In California, officials say a former principal faces a misdemeanor charge for "cruelty to child by endangering health" after having been caught on camera aggressively shoving a student with special needs to the ground.
CNN reported that on June 7, Brian Vollhardt, then-principal of Wolters Elementary School, was caught on surveillance video captured by the Fresno Unified School District shoving an unidentified 11-year-old student to the ground while he and other staffers were working with the "upset student." The surveillance footage does not contain any audio.
In the video, the student gestures to Vollhardt and points his finger at him. Vollhardt shoves the student to the ground. It is not clear what led to the incident.
According to the child's guardian, Ann Frank, the case lingered at police headquarters until she filed a complaint. The school district sat on the video for three months, she added.
An arrest warrant affidavit obtained by CNN affiliate KFSN indicates that Vollhardt said the student "was yelling and getting in [my] face" and making threats. Citing the ongoing investigation, both police and the school district declined to comment on Vollhardt's statement.
"You cannot put force to these kids like that," Frank stated. "My son is autistic. Any parents seeing this video, they know what I'm feeling right now. My son was pushed with force by this principal who was supposed to protect him."
During a news conference, Fresno Police Chief Paco Balderrama acknowledged that authorities failed to act quickly in the matter.
"I found out about the incident two days ago — at about 3 p.m. on Tuesday," Balderrama said Thursday. "We have since gone back and looked at our process on how these types of cases are handled. I, as police chief, want to be notified anytime there's an assault this serious occurs in any one of our schools. That didn't happen in this case."
Vollhardt quit before the district could complete its investigation, Superintendent Bob Nelson said.
The Golden Plains Unified School District later hired Vollhardt as a vice principal. Martin Marcias, that school district's superintendent, indicated he became aware of the incident on Wednesday and has since placed Vollhardt on administrative leave.
Roger Wilson, Vollhardt's lawyer, has asked the district attorney's office for more details surrounding the event and has said he cannot make an informed statement regarding the matter until he receives discovery from the district attorney's office. Wilson added that, in the meantime, a court date has been set for Vollhardt.
Nelson said the student is "physically OK" and has emotional support.
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