Shocking footage captured the moment a middle school teacher put a student in a chokehold as children pleaded for him to stop.
Teacher Bennie Leverett was arrested on child abuse charges in connection with the classroom fight, which was filmed by another student on January 18 at Progress Village Middle School in Florida.
It is unclear what triggered the confrontation, as it begins with Leverett allegedly grappling with the student and holding him in a headlock as the teenager attempted to free himself.
After the shocking footage was discovered, the school’s assistant principal Tashiska Fabian was also arrested after she allegedly ordered the student to delete the video and failed to report the incident to law enforcement.
Shocking footage captured the moment a middle school teacher put a student in a chokehold as children pleaded for him to stop
The footage was reportedly filmed on January 18 at Progress Village Middle School in Florida, leading to the arrest of teacher Bennie Leverett on child abuse charges
In the footage, released by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, other students in the classroom were heard laughing hysterically as the struggle began.
As the teacher and student continued grappling, the severity appeared to dawn on the other students in the room, with one approaching the teacher as the girl filming yelled: ‘Dude, help your boy.’
The two fell to the floor at one stage as the student struggled to break out of the chokehold.
While still on the floor, the teacher claimed that the student ‘didn’t respond to me’, leading the other students to scream back at the teacher that ‘he can’t’ while in a headlock.
‘He can’t, he’s dying, you’re killing him,’ the girl filming added.
At one stage, another student (left) approached the two as they struggled, while the person filming screamed ‘he’s dying, you’re killing him’
After wrestling on the floor for several seconds, the young student successfully fought back and stood up long enough to shove the teacher, allegedly Leverett, backwards.
As other students swore and screamed as they witnessed the fight, the two flung themselves into a door – with the footage then cutting to the teacher still holding the student in a headlock as they shuffled into another room.
A police report claimed the student involved was 14 years old.
Chokeholds have been banned by many major police departments across the US since the 2014 death of Eric Garner, a New York City man police were trying to apprehend for selling loose cigarettes, and that effort ramped up after the police killing of George Floyd in Minnesota in 2020.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office launched an investigation after the schoolroom video surfaced in February, and found that Leverett’s chokehold ‘restricted the student’s ability to breathe’, reports WTSP.
Hillsborough County Schools officials said Leavitt was ‘pulled from duty’ when allegations were made against him in February, before he was arrested and charged with child abuse the next month.
Deputies also alleged that assistant principal Fabian failed to report the incident when she met with the teacher and student immediately after their classroom clash.
Assistant principal Tashiska Fabian (seen in her booking mugshot) was arrested after she allegedly ordered the student to delete the video and failed to report the incident to law enforcement
Leverett is now facing one count of felony child abuse, and he posted a $5,000 bond to be released in March after pleading not guilty
She also allegedly warned the student who filmed the incident to delete the clip, and was removed from her duties at the same time as Leverett. Deputies later arrested the assistant principal on September 4.
Following Fabian’s arrest, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister slammed the two school employees, branding Leverett’s behavior ‘deeply troubling’ while scathing Fabian for ‘failing to do the right thing.’
‘This is a complete betrayal of trust within our community,’ Chronister said.
‘I’m proud of the witness who stepped up and did the right thing by reporting the incident, ensuring law enforcement could step in and bring justice for the victim.’
Leverett is now facing one count of felony child abuse, and the Tampa Bay Times reported that he posted a $5,000 bond to be released in March. He pleaded not guilty.
Fabian is facing one count of failure to report child abuse, and was released Wednesday after posting a $2,500 bond.