A Santa Monica High School teacher has been placed on leave and an investigation is under way following a physical altercation with a student inside a classroom on Friday.
In an email obtained by The Mirror, Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District superintendent Sandra Lyon wrote to parents at 3:30 pm, saying officers of the Santa Monica Police Department were called to the campus regarding the incident.
Lyon said a number of videos capturing at least a portion of the incident were circulating.
“I can tell you that what I witnessed on one of those videos is utterly alarming,” Lyon said. “We have been in contact with the student’s family, and we will work with them to offer the support that they may need.”
Lyon said there was no reported serious physical harm to students or teachers, but that neither dismissed the severity of this situation nor her commitment to gather all the facts and make sure the proper actions are taken.
“Until the investigation is complete, we will not have all the details that led up to this incident; nevertheless, based on the what I have viewed, the kind of physical restraint used by the teacher is unacceptable,” Lyon said. “I have placed the teacher on leave pending the outcome of an independent investigation.”
