HARRAH, Okla. – A Harrah Middle School teacher is under fire. He’s accused of forcefully grabbing a student’s arm, hurting him.
Now, the school and police are working to figure out what happened.
Twelve-year-old Alex Humbles said the teacher, Jonny Henderson, grabbed his arm, leaving behind a hand print and red marks. And, although it’s a minor injury, Alex and his family said teachers should never touch students.
“It hurt,” he said.
Alex said he was in class at Harrah Middle School on Friday when Henderson went into his classroom.
“I was sitting at the desk, and Mrs. Jamie had to step out for a minute, so Mr. Henderson comes in there and these kids turn around, he starts yelling at this one kid,” he said.
Alex admits he did talk back to the teacher, asking him to not to yell, but Alex said that’s when Henderson allegedly laid his hands on him.
“He comes over there, ‘Well, you can’t talk to me like that,’ and then he grabs me by my arm, and squeezes it and twists it,” Alex said. “It looked really red and had fingerprints on it.”
Alex said he was sent to the office to wait until school was over, just 30 minutes later. He went home on the bus and immediately told his mom what happened.
“Alex was like, ‘Mom, look at my arm,’ and he takes off his hoodie and I’m like why is it so red,” said Jeannie Humbles. “What happened.”
Jeannie snapped a picture of his arm and took it straight to the school and police. She was upset she wasn’t notified.
“I was just pretty upset about it because, when we drop our kids off at school, we’re assuming everything is going to be fine and, if it isn’t fine, they will contact me,” she said.
News 4 went to the Harrah Police Department. They said there are two reports on Henderson that they’re investigating.
Jeannie said, no matter the circumstance, her son shouldn’t be touched.
“When the teachers handle our children – I know Alex is a big kid, he can handle his own, but the teachers should not touch our kids,” she said.
News 4 spoke with the Harrah superintendent and requested to speak with Henderson; he said he was not available. He also said they are aware of the incident on Friday and they’re investigating.
