New Jersey Teacher Attacked After Confiscating Student’s Phone [Video]


A New Jersey teacher was attacked by one of his students after confiscating said student’s cell phone during class. According to Mail Online, a freshman at John F. Kennedy High School in Paterson, New Jersey, got super angry when his 62-year-old physics teacher took away his phone. According to the report, another student decided to film what happened next.

“In the 23-second clip posted to YouTube, the student can be seen wrestling with the teacher who tried to carry on with his lesson as the boy grabs him around his waist and slams him into a desk. Other students can be heard shouting for the student to ‘stop’ and ‘chill’ but none tried to physically stop him during the assault.”

The New Jersey teacher did not defend himself, and none of the other kids in the class did anything to break up the one-sided rumble either. The 16-year-old student was suspended from school, and police were called to investigate. The teen has since been charged with assault. It is unknown if the teacher involved in the altercation was injured, but he did get up after being wrestled to the ground, and he appeared to be okay.

As previously reported by Inquisitr, police interviewed the teacher before arresting the student that attacked him.

“We took a statement from the teacher today. After that, we went out and found the juvenile and arrested him,” said Capt. Heriberto Rodriguez.

According to CBS New York, the student grabbed his teacher in an attempt to get his phone back. It isn’t clear what the school’s policy is on cell phones, and there seems to be some debate as to whether or not teachers should be permitted to take students’ phones, or if cell phones should be considered “personal property.” Regardless which side of the argument you fall on, pretty much everyone agrees that violence is not the answer. Getting into a physical altercation was completely unnecessary, and the teacher could have been seriously injured.

“Authorities say the boy allegedly wrapped his arms around the teacher and knocked him into an empty desk, then threw him to the ground in front of other students.”

As to why the New Jersey teacher didn’t fight back, sources say that he was protecting himself, and his job. He likely also didn’t want to strike a student, regardless of the fact that it would have been considered self-defense.

Do you think that the teacher should have put up a fight to defend himself? Do you think the student should be expelled from school?

[Photo courtesy of YouTube]

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