Shocking video shows Florida middle school teacher putting student in a chokehold
Shocking footage shows the moment a high school teacher puts a student in a chokehold as children beg him to stop.
Teacher Bennie Leverett was arrested on suspicion of child abuse in connection with the classroom brawl filmed by another student on January 18 at Progress Village Middle School in Florida.
It is unclear what sparked the confrontation, which reportedly began with Leverett grabbing the student and holding him in a chokehold as the teen tried to free himself.
After the shocking footage was discovered, the school’s deputy principal, Tashiska Fabian, was also arrested for allegedly ordering the student to delete the video and for failing to report the incident to police.
Shocking footage captured the moment a high school teacher put a student in a chokehold as children begged 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 charges of child abuse
In the footage, released by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, other students in the classroom can be heard laughing hysterically as the struggle breaks out.
As the teacher and student continued to struggle, the gravity of the situation dawned on the other students in the class. One of them walked up to the teacher as the girl who was filming yelled, “Man, help your boy.”
At one point, the two fell to the ground as the student tried to free himself from the chokehold.
While still on the ground, the teacher claimed the student was “not responding to me,” to which the other students shouted back at the teacher that “he can’t do that” while he was in a headlock.
“He can’t do it, he’s going to die, you’re going to destroy him,” the girl filming added.
At one point, another student (left) approached the two as they were struggling, while the person filming yelled, “He’s going to die, you’re going to kill him”
After struggling on the ground for several seconds, the young student successfully fought back and stood up long enough to push the teacher, reportedly Leverett, backwards.
As other students cursed and screamed as they witnessed the fight, the two jumped against a door. The footage cuts to the teacher still holding the student in a headlock as the student shuffles into another room.
According to the police report, the student involved was 14 years old.
Chokeholds have been banned by many major police departments in the U.S. since the 2014 death of Eric Garner, a New York man who tried to arrest police for selling loose cigarettes. Those measures were further enforced after the 2020 death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minnesota.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office launched an investigation after video of the classroom surfaced in February, finding that Leverett’s chokehold “restricted the student’s ability to breathe,” according to a report WTSP.
Hillsborough County Schools officials said Leavitt was “removed from service” when allegations were made against him in February, before he was arrested the following month and charged with child abuse.
The deputies also alleged that deputy principal Fabian failed to report the incident when she met the teacher and the student immediately after their clash in class.
Assistant Principal Tashiska Fabian (seen in her booking photo) was arrested after allegedly ordering the student to delete the video and failing to report the incident to police.
Leverett now faces one count of child abuse and has 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 relieved of her duties at the same time as Leverett. The deputies later arrested the assistant principal on September 4.
Following Fabian’s arrest, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister issued a strong statement criticizing the two school officials, calling Leverett’s behavior “deeply disturbing” and criticizing Fabian for “not doing the right thing.”
“This is a complete betrayal of the trust within our community,” Chronister said.
“I am proud of the witness who did the right thing by reporting the incident, which allowed the police to intervene and bring justice to the victim.”
Leverett now faces one count of 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 charged with failure to report child abuse and was released Wednesday after posting $2,500 bail.