A Texas elementary school teacher has been arrested and accused of grabbing two children by their throats at school, according to reports.
Gail Patterson, 61, was arrested Sept. 15 following a Benbrook Police Department investigation, according to KTVT-TV. Patterson has since been released from jail.
‘This is a profound betrayal of trust.’
Patterson is charged with two counts of injury to a child.
Patterson had been a teacher at Westpark Elementary School in Benbrook.
The Fort Worth Independent School District confirmed to Blaze News that Patterson was placed on administrative leave in August and no longer employed by the district “following an incident involving a student.”
The school district said it has cooperated fully with law enforcement and child protective services since August.
According to the Benbrook Police Department, the alleged incident against two fourth-grade students occurred Aug. 20 during the school day.
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WFAA-TV reported that a mother identified only as Catie said her 9-year-old daughter called her from school “crying, inconsolable, saying a teacher choked her.”
According to an arrest affidavit, Patterson removed Catie’s daughter and another student from class after the two fourth-graders were caught talking.
Catie told WFAA that school officials showed her surveillance video capturing the alleged incident in a school hallway.
“Within two seconds, she grabs the first student by the neck, then grabs my daughter, holds them both against the wall for 11 seconds while she’s in their face,” Catie said.
Authorities have not released the surveillance video.
Catie claimed that nobody from the school contacted her regarding the alleged assault, despite her daughter telling three teachers about it.
What’s more, the mother is furious over the school’s response, telling WFAA that “I was disgusted. It hurt. Knowing we trusted a school after coming from homeschool. We trusted them to take care of our child, and no teacher in that school took care of my child that day.”
Catie’s attorney, Ty Stimpson, added, “They don’t want to see Ms. Patterson teaching or having any involvement with kids anymore.”
Stimpson told KTVT, “This is a profound betrayal of trust. When you send a child to school, you expect them to be nurtured and protected, not victimized by their teacher.”
“While it can be a challenge to take on legal action against a school district, Fort Worth ISD has established policies that must be followed,” Stimpson continued. “We are guiding these families through this process, ensuring that the students’ complaints and grievances are addressed. We have requested that the teacher be terminated and permanently barred from returning to any school in the district.”
Attorneys representing the alleged victims are moving forward with a formal complaint through Fort Worth ISD and are “calling for accountability to include safeguards and staff training,” according to WFAA. The district has until next week to submit a formal response to the complaint, Stimpson said.
When Patterson was asked for comment, she said, “Go away,” according to WFAA.
Benbrook Police did not immediately respond to Blaze News’ request for comment about the arrest.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that Patterson was listed on the Westpark PTA website as a special-education inclusion teacher in the school’s SPED/RISE program but that “her name has since been removed.” An archived version of the website from last November shows Patterson listed as a special-education inclusion teacher in the school’s SPED/RISE program.
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