A Dallas ISD employee is in custody and accused of assaulting a student as a video of the incident is shared across social media.
The video, taken in a hallway at Justin F. Kimball High School on April 14, has since received thousands of views and hundreds of comments.
The Dallas ISD employee, identified as 31-year-old Marcel Brooks, is seen swinging at a student as he falls to the ground. An arrest affidavit obtained by NBC 5 said a sergeant and detective with the Dallas Police Department viewed the video in their investigation of the incident. The affidavit states Brooks admitted to hitting the student.
Brooks was arrested and charged with assault causing bodily injury. However, some students at Kimball said that wasn’t enough. On Monday, they staged a walkout, demanding transparency from the district and a detailed report of the events from that day. A senior at the high school did not want to be identified but said she helped organize the walkout.
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“It’s gotten this bad to where you have to worry about teachers hitting students. That’s pretty worrisome,” she said. “If our voices are loud, it will get the parents’ attention. And if we get the parents' attention then they’re going to get the district’s attention.”
The incident did get the attention of Dallas ISD officials. The district released a statement saying it is deeply disturbed by what happened. The statement goes on to read in part:
Our job as educators is to provide a safe learning environment where students can learn, grow, and excel. The actions captured on the video in no way reflect that commitment, and Dallas ISD will not tolerate this type of behavior.
Dallas ISD statement
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Dallas ISD also said swift action was taken and all parties will be held responsible. However, NBC 5 has not received word on the status of Brooks’ employment.
Within the walls of Kimball on Tuesday, we were told the incident is still being discussed.
“They’re still talking about the video. They’re still talking about what happened. It’s very much still a thing at our high school.”
As for the student in the video, police said his mother took him to the hospital after learning about what happened. There were no updates as of Tuesday evening on the student’s condition.
Calls to Marcel Brooks and requests for comment were not returned. His bond was set for $1,500.
