Beaumont, Texas – A Texas high school teacher was arrested and charged with assault on Friday after a cellphone video of her repeatedly slapping a student in the back of the head was posted online.
Mary Hastings, a sixty-three-year-old geometry teacher at Ozen High School in Beaumont was booked into the Jefferson County jail on a misdemeanor count of assault. She posted $2,500 bond and was later freed.
Later on Friday, the school district also issued a short statement on their website stating it would not tolerate such misconduct. The statement also said the school district had placed her on administrative leave.
“The District is committed to providing a safe and secure environment for our students. BISD does not condone employees abusing any child and will not tolerate such conduct. The teacher was immediately removed from the classroom and placed on administrative leave pending action on her contract,” the statement read.
Video showed Hasting hitting student in the head
The incident came to light after the cellphone video taken in the classroom was posted on Twitter with the caption “this.”
The video shows Hastings swiping papers off a male student’s desk, then smacking the back of his head five times while yelling at him and calling him an “idiot ass.” The student then asked her “Why you did this?” to which the teacher respond mocking him in restating his question. After this, the student laughs as the teacher makes fun of him.
The Beaumont Independent School District continues to investigate the incident. The nine-second video does not show what events occurred previously that lead Hastings to this situation.
Source: NBC News