Bizarre moment former teacher Carlos Hurtado is tackled and arrested by police during a football game at a California high school, days after he was forced to resign and BANNED from campus
- The history teacher jumped onto the track and outmaneuvered the police before being knocked out by the coach
- He had told his supporters that he “desperately” needed their help
- But the petition calling for his reinstatement has been suspended following his field invasion
Students at a high school football game watched in amazement as a recently fired teacher ran onto the track and outmaneuvered the pursuers before being pinned to the ground by police.
Carlos Hurtado, 27, was banned from campus after being fired last week from Heritage High School in Brentwood, California, reportedly for poor attendance.
The Oakley history teacher seemed to take it badly, posting a message on his Facebook page saying he was “in desperate need” of his followers’ support, and referring them to a petition calling for his recovery.
But no one expected the ex-teacher to be on stage when his former school took on local rival Granada in front of an excited crowd.
“Shout out to the coach who knocked him down,” said one observer. “I feel safer knowing that there are adults like him who put safety first with our children.”
Carlos Hurtado easily outmaneuvered a pursuing police officer as he sprinted down the track
Police eventually caught up with Hurtado after he was knocked down by a coach
Video posted to YouTube shows the moment Hurtado, dressed in a suit and button-up jacket, jogs onto the running track, leaving a pursuing police officer in his wake.
He ran through the stands, hindering a fence, but was eventually knocked out and knocked to the ground after trying to double back in front of the home bench.
Handcuffed and pushed into a police car, he was arrested on suspicion of disrupting a school activity, trespassing and obstruction, and taken to Martinez Jail where he is being held on $3,000 bail.
A few days earlier, he had spoken calmly at a school board meeting, where he politely suggested that teachers deserved a raise.
The popular amateur football referee who described himself online as a “great role model in my community” was set to spend Labor Day weekend in Hawaii after donating $1,000 to the Maui Relief Fund.
But his sudden dismissal caused shock among the school’s 2,600 students, along with a petition demanding his recall.
“I have been in the Liberty Union High School District for six full years,” he wrote on Facebook.
‘However, my seventh year was quite a nightmare. I urgently need your support so that I can continue to return to my community.”
Director Casey Lewis has declined to comment on the reasons for Hurtado’s firing, but called his field invasion “sad and unhappy.”
The 27-year-old was a teacher in the Liberty Union High School District for six years before his arrest
The smartly dressed teacher was banned from the school after being sacked earlier this week
He was taken to Martinez Jail where he is being held on $3,000 bail
Seen here on a trip to Paris in 2018, he recently claimed to have set up his own travel company
Just days before his discharge, he had bragged about buying his first new car
The Brentwood, California school has yet to confirm the reason for Hurtado’s firing, but described his on-field protest as “sad”
Friends at the school suggested he was fired for erratic behavior and taking time off to work on his sideline as a travel agent.
The petition was started by ‘concerned students, parents and community members’ who described him as a ‘passionate and dedicated educator’ and an ‘invaluable asset to our school’.
The petition was shelved after his field invasion on Friday night, with one of the moderators writing, “You won’t know about this after today….”
Dailymail.com has approached both Hurtado and the school.