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TAMPA, Fla. ( WFLA ) — An assistant principal and teacher at a Tampa middle school were arrested in connection to a child abuse investigation after a video showed the teacher put a child in a chokehold, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
On Jan. 18, officials said 39 year-old Bennie Leverett, a teacher at Progress Village Middle School, put a student in a chokehold, “restricting the student’s ability to breathe.”
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Assistant Principal Tashiska Fabian, 41, reportedly met with Leverett and the student after she was made aware of the incident but never reported it to the Child Abuse Hotline or police.
After Fabian learned that the incident was recorded, she told the student to delete the video, according to the sheriff’s office. The video had been deleted but was recovered by detectives.
Officials showed up at the middle school with the Department of Children and Families on Feb. 16 to investigate, and Leverett was later arrested on March 14.