Wisconsin Teacher Placed On Leave After Allegedly Tackling 11-Year-Old Student and Ripping Braids From Her Head

According to Yahoo Lifestyle, a Wisconsin teacher has been placed on administrative leave after allegedly tackling an 11-year-old student and ripping out three of her braids.

The incident was caught on school cameras and is currently under both police and district investigation.

Mikiea Price filed a police report with the Madison Police Department in Wisconsin after hearing from her daughter, a student at Whitehorse Middle School, about the incident that transpired on February 13, according to WISC-TV. She was “crying and her lip was cracked, bleeding and she handed me three of her braids that were pulled out from her scalp,” Price told Madison 365.

“I am told that the girl and her friend had sprayed perfume on themselves in the bathroom and the scent was bothering the teacher’s allergies,” Allen told Yahoo Lifestyle. “The teacher asked who sprayed it and the class didn’t answer, so she asked [Mueller-Owens] to come in, and he targeted this one girl.” Allen said the student admitted she used the spray and was asked to come into the hallway.

Allen personally viewed the school video and told Yahoo Lifestyle that the administrator forcefully pushed the girl out of the classroom and into a row of lockers, then lost his balance and fell on top of her. “He stayed on top of her for 10 or 15 seconds,” Allen tells Yahoo Lifestyle.

“I don’t know how the girl’s braids were pulled out but she has two bald spots on her head,” he told Yahoo Lifestyle.

It should also be noted that Price—who’s familiar with protocol in these situations due to her work as a substitute teacher at Whitehorse Middle School—said administrators failed to call her or provide medical attention to her daughter, who’s too frightened to return to school.

“Just the whole experience is just traumatic and devastating and just confusing. I’m just disgusted at this whole incident,” Price told WISC-TV. “You know I send my kid to school to learn, and that’s a place where mothers send their kids to be comfortable in. I just feel violated in so many ways that … this even happened to her.”

In response, the Madison Metropolitan School District released the following statement, “As a District, we take any situation of this nature very seriously. All of our students need to be safe and supported in school, and we have a thorough investigation process and protocol that we follow. While we cannot talk about the details of a specific student or personnel situation, it is our responsibility to consider all of the facts of the situation and determine the right next steps. The staff person was put on leave while the situation was investigated. Based on that investigation, the staff person will not return to Whitehorse Middle School, and we are determining next steps. In addition, our team is coming together to create a full support plan to ensure that students is safe and fully supported at school.”