ST. CLOUD, Fla. – A pre-kindergarten teacher at St. Cloud Elementary is facing a child abuse charge after school surveillance video showed her grabbing, dragging, and shoving a young student on the playground, according to the St. Cloud Police Department.
Kathryn Garcia was arrested by the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office on Sunday evening.
What the video showed
The incident happened Thursday, October 1, during recess. According to the police report, the student became upset when recess ended and sat down on the ground. Video reviewed by the reporting officer showed Garcia leaning down and grabbing the child’s left arm, pulling him up from the ground aggressively. When the child dropped back to the ground, Garcia kicked his legs, then grabbed his left arm and dragged him across the concrete, according to the police report.
Garcia then placed both hands around the child’s neck from behind and lifted his head and neck, raising him off the ground. She then placed her right hand under his chin while extending his left arm outward and shoved him face-first into a chain-link fence. Seconds later, video appeared to show Garcia extending her right arm and striking the child in the upper torso, according to the report.
What witnesses said
Two teachers who were on the playground reported what they saw to school administration. One witness told investigators she saw Garcia jerk the child off the ground by his wrist two to three times, dropping him more than once. The witness said Garcia then kicked and shuffled the child across the ground with her feet before grabbing him by the neck with both hands and jerking him to a standing position, then shoving him into the fence…