A Brookside Middle School teacher may face jail time after getting into an altercation with a 14-year-old student on Feb. 15.
- Teacher pleads not guilty after fight with student
- John Russo to face judge at end of month
- Russo said student threatened, punched him
- Resource officer claims Russo got physical first
John Russo is accused of getting physical with a student the day after the Parkland shooting. However, the teacher said he was doing what was necessary to protect the school.
In a viral Facebook post, Russo said he was heading to a track meet when he spotted a boy wearing a hooded sweatshirt that was covering his face. Since hoodies were banned at the school for safety reasons following the tragedy, Russo asked the student to take his hood off numerous times.
When the student finally complied he started threatening and cursing at Russo, the Brookside teacher said. Russo grabbed the boy's arm when he started to walk away, and then the student tried to punch him.
The school principal and resource officer had to get involved to stop the situation from escalating further.
Despite Russo's account of the story, the school resource officer said Russo was the one who got physical first. He said Russo put the boy in bear hug and pushed him against the wall.
The teen's mom requested battery charges be filed against Russo.
The school district said Russo has been placed on administrative leave. He hasn't had any contact with students or been inside the doors of his classroom for a little more than two months.
Many students and fellow teachers want to know when he'll be returning to class.
"They want to know, 'when is John coming back? What's happening? What's the resolution of this case?' And they're not getting it," said Kendra Carr who shared Russo's statement on Facebook.
The Facebook post has now been shared more than 1,000 times.
"It went from something that I thought would just be local here, with our school community, and it went out almost nationwide," said Carr, whose husband works at Brookside Middle School.
Russo's attorney said he acted within the confines of the school's handbook and has entered a not guilty plea.
"It was kind of a surprise when he was the one who really took the fall and ended up being taken out of the classroom," Carr said.
The teen involved is back in school, while Russo will face a judge at the end of the month.