Pewu Johnson told reporters he lost consciousness after he was slammed to the ground by a student he told to leave his classroom
Last week an 18-year-old student walked into a classroom to talk with a friend. The substitute teacher overseeing the class at Bartram High School in Southwest Philadelphia told the teen to leave. The student refused. The teacher and the student had a verbal altercation that escalated, and the substitute was pushed by the student, authorities say. The student left the classroom, but according to police who spoke with CBS Philadelphia, the student confronted the substitute at the end of the school day.
He told me, “Get the f–k out of my face,” substitute English teacher Pewu Johnson told NBC Philedelphia.
“The boy dropped me down with so much force,” he told the station, “I was out,” stated Johnson.
Video of Johnson lying motionless on the ground while students looked was shared on social media.
Johnson told NBC that he was treated at the hospital and released shortly after. He noted that he planned to file a criminal complaint against the student. A statement issued by the Philadelphia School District indicated that the student had been suspended and was facing expulsion.
“No forms of violence, especially against teachers, should be tolerated,” Philadelphia Councilman Kenyatta Johnson told CBS Philadelphia. “So we want to make sure that teachers are safe, all young people are safe, and most importantly, that there’s a zero-tolerance policy toward any type of violence against any teachers.”
But despite his release, the victim, a Liberian immigrant with deep roots in Philadelphia, still suffers from intense neck pain and is not sure when he will be fit enough to return to work.
=Tamara El(@_SheWise_)
