The cellphone video from inside a classroom at Santa Monica High School went viral Friday.
It showed Mark Black, a longtime teacher and wrestling coach, swatting at a student with his arms, grabbing the teenager by the thigh, and then crashing into desks and the classroom wall as he tried to execute a takedown. Moments later, Black had the young man pinned to the ground.
District Superintendent Sandra Lyon called the incident “utterly alarming” and acted swiftly, placing the teacher on leave pending the outcome of an investigation. In a statement released hours after the fight, she called the teacher’s use of physical restraint “unacceptable” and she pledged that the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District would offer support to the student’s family.
For more on this story visit: Matt Stevens, Los Angeles Times
