A Chicago teacher has been accused of lying to protect her police officer partner, who was caught on a school camera forcibly pushing a 14-year-old boy.
The police officer, Craig Lancaster, 54, has been charged with aggravated battery and banned from Gresham School of Excellence following the incident in May.
Lancaster was off duty at the time and was reportedly visiting his partner of 20 years, a math teacher, when he attacked JaQuwaun Williams and punched him in the throat as the boy walked into the school on May 18.
The footage shows Lancaster holding Williams down and pushing him hard, before the teacher steps between them to break it up and Lancaster leaves the school grounds.
The teacher is now accused of giving a Chicago Public Schools official the wrong last name for Lancaster and telling them he was an employee of a computer company instead of a cop, according to the Chicago Tribune.
JaQuwaun Williams (pictured), pictured with his grandmother Lynida Williams-Saddler (right) at their Gresham home, was struck by an off-duty police officer outside his former school earlier this year
Newly released records seen by the Tribune show that shortly after the incident, the teacher sent an email to her principal stating that her boyfriend Craig “Wiliams” had grabbed the teen because the boy ignored her directions to get in line.
She also told the director that her “boyfriend” worked at a computer company and not as a police officer.
According to Lancaster's lawyer, the couple has been in a relationship for about twenty years.
The Tribune obtained the incident report and the teacher's email as part of an open records request filed with Chicago Public Schools in October.
Lancaster is now awaiting trial after pleading not guilty at his arraignment last month.
In the video, Lancaster and the teacher are seen standing in front of the school's entrance as students line up waiting for permission to enter the building for class.
JaQuwaun Williams, now 15, walked up to the pair just minutes before his first test playing a game of basketball with a friend.
In the video, which does not contain audio, the teacher appears to say something to Williams and gesture to direct him to where other eighth-graders are waiting their turn to enter the school.
Williams continues walking towards the entrance of the school. At that moment, Lancaster steps forward and pushes him forcefully in the chest, near his neck, causing him to stumble back several feet – although he does not fall.
Williams could be seen pushing the boy close to his neck
Williams stumbled back in surprise, then still looked confused
Veteran Chicago police officer Craig Lancaster leaves after his arraignment at the Leighton Courthouse in Chicago, Thursday, November 16, 2023
After the push, Williams said he felt confused about why it happened. He can be seen on the video gesturing to Lancaster in confusion.
He didn't try to fight back.
The teacher then steps between the police officer and the schoolchild and directs Williams to stand near a brick wall. He does this unopposed while his classmates watch.
In an interview with the Chicago Tribune, Williams said his mother always told him, “If someone lays hands on you, don't hit them.” Just go tell someone.”
After the ordeal, the teacher talks to Lancaster for a few seconds before the off-duty officer walks back to his car.
Williams looks away from the officer and stands firmly against the wall.
Moments later, Williams walks past his math teacher and again holds up his hands in confusion, wondering what just happened. The teacher leads him into the building.
In the immediate aftermath of the bizarre and disturbing incident, Williams says he was “shocked, ashamed and silent.”
Lynida Williams-Saddler and Vincent Suttles, grandparents of JaQuwaun, with their attorney, Jordan Marsh
Craig Lancaster, 54, was off duty and speaking to a teacher in the grounds of Gresham Primary School (pictured) when the incident occurred last May
“At first I was shocked that he (hit) me; then I feel ashamed because I was (beaten) in front of my friends. And then I was just quiet because I didn't want to talk to anyone,” he told the outlet.
'It's hard because everyone knows what happened to you. Very difficult, because you think everyone is going to use it as a joke all the time.'
Lancaster has been under investigation for the past seven months for the push, the video of which is the cornerstone of the federal civil rights lawsuit brought by Williams' family against the officer and the city of Chicago.
According to records, Lancaster previously faced about 30 misconduct allegations over the course of two decades, many of which were use-of-force complaints.
Based on the police accountability system, only three of the nearly thirty allegations against him were substantiated.
The two most serious sustained complaints – both related to discharging his weapon while off-duty – resulted in a 30-day unpaid suspension.
Until the incident in May, Lancaster had not had a public complaint in years.
DailyMail.com contacted Chicago Public Schools for comment.