SENOIA, Ga. — A parent shared a video with 11Alive that he said shows a teacher at East Coweta Middle School dragging a student out of a classroom into the hallway by his bookbag.
The video was captured on the school’s security camera positioned in a hallway outside the teacher’s room. Justin Dewberry, the student's father, provided the video to 11Alive. He's going public after months of trying to get justice for his son on his own.
Dewberry said his son came home on Nov. 6, 2023, and shared with him what happened during the fourth period in his Social Studies class.
“He (his son) said he’d been dragged backwards out of his chair by his bookbag, into the hallway to the floor, then was stepped over," he said.
Dewberry said the school’s principal called him later that evening, and the two talked about what happened. On the next day, Nov. 7, Dewberry said he requested the video. However, he said it wasn’t until just recently that he received it.
“I don’t believe I actually got the video until about a month ago,” Dewberry said.
As to what led up to what was seen on the video, Dewberry said it was just boys being boys. He said they apparently had been talking, and then there was a paper football involved.
“So another student flicks it at him, it hit his desk, and then my son seen that, kind of swatted it off his desk,” Dewberry said.
Dewberry said what happened next didn't make sense.
“She obviously lost her cool, as you’ll see in the video,” he explained.
11Alive stopped by the teacher’s home on Wednesday evening to give her a chance to defend her actions and explain what happened in the classroom that day. A man who answered the door said she was on the phone.
11Alive's Cody Alcorn left his business card with his cell phone number on it but has not received a call from her as of Wednesday night.
Dewberry said he does understand the stress and workload on teachers. However, he said what he saw in the video should have never happened.
“There’s a process. Give them a warning, write them up. If he’s being that bad, send him to the office, but don’t touch my kid,” Dewberry said.
Dewberry said he took a warrant out himself on the teacher for simple battery. He said they had a court hearing Wednesday where the judge said he would decide in two to four weeks on whether or not he would sign the warrant and have the teacher arrested.
11Alive reached out to the Coweta County Sheriff’s Office regarding their investigation into the alleged assault but hadn’t heard back as of late Wednesday night.
According to paperwork presented in court on Wednesday, the teacher was allowed to resign from the school on Nov. 17, 2023, for "medical and personal reasons."
11Alive reached out to the state Board of Education to get a response from them. We have not heard back yet.