Student Pepper Sprayed Teacher over Phone Use

By Ophelia Garrett

In Brief:

A Tennessee high school teacher was pepper sprayed after taking away his student's phone. And it's not the first time he’s suffered a physical assault while trying to enforce rules. 

The Background: 

A Nashville-neighboring high school recently had an incident where a high school student was caught on video viciously attacking her teacher. Prior to the recording starting, the unnamed teacher had removed his student’s phone, per school policy. She reacted by pepper spraying him in the face. 

The video picks up as she follows the now-injured teacher into the hallway, still demanding the return of her phone. When the teacher further refused, she pepper sprayed him in the face again, causing him to stumble to his knees. The relentless student continued to demand her phone. 

“Can I get my phone?” the student repeated. “Can I get my phone? Can I get my phone? I need my phone!” She showed no apparent concern for the physical harm she had just caused and was continuing to cause. 

Off camera, you can hear other students reacting to the obscurity of her behavior: “Over a phone? This $hit is crazy.”

This is the second time in as many months that this particular teacher has been physically assaulted. Two months ago he was punched in the face by a student after he caught a student using a phone during a test.

Notable Quotes: 

“This student's actions represent a serious violation of law and our school policies” and has “received appropriate disciplinary consequences.” – Metro Nashville Public School