A teacher was arrested for kicking a 7-year-old student with disabilities who was acting out in class, according to the Blaine Police Department.
The Blaine School District says the teacher, Catherine Hicks, has been placed on administrative leave.
Officers were called to Blaine Primary School on January 24th. According to police, the 7-year-old student was acting out in class and fell to the ground, kicking and screaming. During that time, the student kicked the teacher in the lower leg. Police say a witness saw Hicks kick the student the upper leg with force.
Brittney Segel was shocked to hear about the allegations involving a teacher at her daughter’s primary school.
“That’s just insane,” she says, “All the teachers are incredibly kind so that’s just shocking.”
According to police, the teacher left the classroom after kicking the child and told other teachers she needed to go for a walk.
Parents like Rhonda Hunt say there’s no excuse for the teacher’s behavior.
“I’d be extremely angry that’s just not right. Disability or not, she’s an adult and she should be better than that,” she said.
Superintendent Ronald Spanjer says the Blaine School District will now launch an independent investigation.
“As we have now confirmed that the Blaine Police Department has completed their work, we will initiate the process of conducting a personnel level investigation, which will remain confidential with respect to the details surfaced until our investigation is complete. At this time, we are setting up the parameters/scope of the investigation, and do not yet have a projected date for completion,” he said.
KIRO 7 learned Hicks has been a member of Blaine’s School District for about 6 months.
The 7-year-old who was kicked was not hurt, according to police.
The school district says student safety remains a priority.
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