A high school music teacher in California was arrested after getting physical with a 14-year-old student during band class.
The teacher, Marston Riley, punched the student in the face and continued to swing while other students recorded the incident on their phones.
Riley, 64, was released from the Los Angeles County Jail on Saturday with a $50,000 bail, reports CBS News.
The fight took place on Friday at Maywood Academy and the video has since gone viral.
Witnesses say the confrontation began when Riley asked the student to leave the classroom for not wearing the required school uniform.
The student then used racial phrases including the N-word toward Riley, who is black, and threw a basketball at him.
Cellphone video showed Riley repeatedly hitting the student and at one point using an object to hit him. The student was taken to the hospital for injuries and was released, according to the LA Sheriff’s Dept.
“We take this matter very seriously and do not condone violence or intolerance of any kind,” a statement from the school district said. “Los Angeles Unified is cooperating with law enforcement in investigating this incident”
Students in the classroom explained how they were scared for both the student and teacher, reports Fox News.
“It was back and forth, back and forth, and then the teacher just decided to throw a punch and that’s when everything happened,” a student said.
Other students defended Riley saying he was a nice teacher.
“I had this teacher before and I had no problem with him,” a student said. “He was a really nice teacher, I always respected him. He always had a really good relationship with every student.”
The school district says crisis counselors and additional security officers will be at Maywood Academy on Monday.
Many parents are concerned for their children, calling the situation “out of hand,” while others have created a GoFundMe page for Riley. They say he has been physically and verbally attacked in the past.
Riley’s arraignment has been scheduled for Nov. 30.
The video above is from KTLA.
