DETROIT (WXYZ) — A 9-year-old Detroit student says a substitute teacher directed other students to physically attack him, leaving him with a black eye, cuts on his face and a concussion. The Detroit Public Schools Community District says the substitute teacher has been placed on administrative leave while an investigation is underway.
C'Antae Fleming, a fourth grader at Robert Burns Elementary-Middle School on Detroit's west side, says the incident happened on a Friday morning after the substitute teacher warned him to stay seated and away from the computer.
Watch the video report below:
"That's when she just like, trying to tell the kids to handle me, like try to push me to my desk. That's what they were telling me to do and she said if I get up one more time, she's gonna get the kids to jump me," C'Antae said.
The 9-year-old says he was punched, held down and strangled by other students.
"Her hits just hurt and that's what hurt, so that's what made me sad and then the kids were choking me until my face was red," C'Antae said.
Watch our full interview with C'Antae and his mother Jay'Shelle below:
His mother, Jay'Shelle Warfield, says she did not learn about the incident until C'Antae and his brother Chase got off the school bus that afternoon.
"Chase immediately comes to me. He says 'mom, C'Antae got hit today. C'Antae got hit by a teacher.' I say, 'who?'" Warfield said.
Warfield says the account was later backed up by another parent.
"My old neighbor called me, and her children just started there two weeks ago, and she said her children came home and told her 'momma, a little boy got punched by a teacher today and there kids were holding him and pinning him down,'" Warfield said.
Warfield says her son has a history of seizures, making the injuries to his head and face especially alarming.
"My son had seizures, so anything to his face or head, I'm gonna be concerned about. He has a history of seizures," Warfield said.
DPSCD provided a statement saying:
"Detroit Public Schools Community District (DPSCD) became aware of an incident involving a substitute teacher who allegedly engaged in misconduct after school hours. The individual has been placed on administrative leave and is not permitted to accept substitute assignments in any DPSCD school while the matter is under investigation. We take matters involving student safety extremely seriously. A thorough investigation is underway, and any findings will be referred to law enforcement."
Retired DPSCD Police Lt. David Wallace says incidents like this were rare during his time on the job but have become more common.
"Normally in my experience, the teacher was always in charge of the classroom and it comes down to classroom management," Wallace said.
Wallace says the pressures on educators today are significant.
Watch our full interview with David Wallace below:
"Learning starts at home, so some of those traits that you have, you bring it into the classroom and then the teacher will have to deal with it. She has 25 or 30 other students with different personalities to deal with, and that's stressful for an educator," Wallace said.
"We all have to work together to ensure situations like this won't happen again."
C'Antae has not returned to school since the incident. His mother says she is working to enroll him elsewhere.
The investigation is ongoing. The substitute teacher cannot accept any substitute assignments while on administrative leave.
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