School authorities in northeast Ohio say a high school teacher has been suspended with pay and is under investigation after a cellphone video surfaced showing him tackling a student inside a classroom.
Canton City Schools superintendent said in a statement that the McKinley High School teacher’s behavior was ‘disturbing and unprofessional.’
The roughly 15-second clip was recorded December 4 and obtained by The Canton Repository which shows teacher Ken Weatherbee and a student standing with his backpack near another classmate’s desk in a classroom.
An Ohio teacher is under investigation after cellphone video surfaced that appears to show him slam a student down to the floor. The school district said the incident happened Dec. 4
The video clip was given to media outlets and shared by a parent of one of the students. The entire clip lasts less than a minute
The clip shows Weatherbee touching a male student’s arm to pull him away from the desk, and the student jerks his arm away.
Weatherbee then grabs the student around the neck and shoulders and slams him to the floor out of sight of the video.
It’s unclear what prompted the encounter.
The student served a one-day suspension for insubordination before the video surfaced but Superintendent Adrian E. Allison has now placed the teacher on paid administrative leave pending the school district’s investigation.
‘The teacher’s behavior on this video is disturbing and unprofessional and is not in accordance with the standards of our district and the teaching profession,’ Allison said.
The teacher, Ken Weatherbee, has been placed on paid leave, according to school officials
In August 2011 Weatherbee had his teaching license suspended for 60 days in 2015 after being convicted of domestic violence
‘The teacher is entitled to and will receive due process. However, the district will exercise all of its legal authority to ensure that he faces the most severe discipline possible.’
Weatherbee, 48, is prohibited from conducting any business on behalf of the district and cannot have any contact with students or parents, unless specifically directed by the district.
Weatherbee was hired by the district in August 2011 and previously had his teaching license suspended for 60 days in 2015 after being convicted of domestic violence.
He was required to complete 40 hours of community service as part of a consent agreement with the Ohio Department of Education.
The discipline stemmed from a 2014 incident for domestic violence.
The president of the Canton Professional Educators’ Association did not return a message seeking comment.