JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A 54-year-old substitute teacher at Landmark Middle School was arrested after an altercation ended with a student pushed to the floor outside a classroom, according to the Duval County School Police.
Justin Anthony Crisp was charged Wednesday with child abuse, jail records show.
The incident started in Crisp's classroom about 9:15 a.m. He said the student told him to "shut the hell up," so he ordered the teen to leave, according to the police report. The student said the substitute was "talking rude for no reason, so I told him to shut up."
Crisp told the officer the student took a step toward him, then made a threat, the report said.
The student said they were cursing at each other, and then Crisp pushed him, then "tackled him to the ground by the neck," the report said.
The officer reviewed security videotape that showed the student leave, then turn around and get shoved as he got to the doorway where Crisp stood, the report said. The student lunged at the teacher, who pushed him out of the doorway and down to the floor. The teacher had his arm around the victim's throat, then "gained control" of the student before other staff arrived.
The student said he had some soreness in his left wrist and throat but refused medical help and was taken home by his stepmother, the report said.
In a message to parents, Landmark Principal Cicely Tyson-White said the substitute teacher’s actions "substantiated an allegation and charge of child abuse," and he was arrested.
"We have very high standards for our conduct as educators, and we will take appropriate action when necessary, as it was today," Tyson-White said. "This substitute will not be allowed to teach again in our school or any of our Duval County Public Schools."
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