Florida teacher throws student out of class for refusing to turn down music, charged with battery
PALM COAST, FLORIDA: A teacher was arrested on Wednesday, January 8 for allegedly forcibly throwing a student out of his classroom.
The incident took place at the Buddy Taylor Middle school located in Palm Coast, Florida.
47-year-old Jeffrey Paffumi picked up the 14-year-old from off his chair and carried him across the classroom on Tuesday. He then pushed him through a doorway and also shoved him in the hallway, the Flager County Sheriff's Office revealed in a statement.
Some part of the incident was captured on video by another student who was in the class. As per the arrest report, the incident had started as the student started playing music on his computer during class, WESH reported. Paffumi had reportedly told the student that he needed to turn the volume down but the child had refused to listen. The teacher then took the student's laptop away and the student proceeded to call him a disparaging name. Following this, the teacher lost his temper.
The student had complained to his parents about the incident on Tuesday night and they had reported it to the school authorities the next morning. Sheriff Rick Staly dubbed the incident and situation as "unfortunate".
"As a teacher, you have to control your temper even when students test you. This is an unfortunate incident involving a teacher and a student. My daughter is a school teacher and I know from her how misbehaved some students can be, but as a teacher you must deal with it appropriately. Corporal punishment like the old days is not allowed today," Staly shared.
The Flagler Schools Superintendent James Tager shared that Paffumi's actions are inconsistent with how educators are expected to behave. Tager revealed that Paffumi was placed on leave pending the result of an investigation. "I have stressed to my executive team the importance of handling this investigation with the utmost seriousness it deserves," Tager shared.
"I also understand a video shows only a portion of a particular incident, so this investigation will encompass the incident in totality and not just what was captured on a camera," Tager added.
The Sheriff's Office revealed that Paffumi had been arrested in 2012 for criminal mischief and had been charged with battery that same year for a physical disturbance.