Teacher removed from Vermilion school board meeting in handcuffs
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UPDATE: Board President Anthony Fontana said he had to lock down the school board office Tuesday because of death threats, KATC reports.
Fontana said he had called police, the sheriff's office and the FBI about the threats.
VERMILION PARISH- The superintendent of Vermilion Parish schools says the board won't press charges against a teacher who was removed from the board's special meeting Monday night, KATC reports.
An English language arts teacher at Rene Rost Middle School addressed the board during the public comments portion of the meeting because she wanted to discuss teacher salaries and pay raises.
After the teacher, Deyshia Hargrave, posed several questions, board president Anthony Fontana ruled Hargrave out of order. Fontana warned her that the public comment section was not a question-and-answer session.
The teacher was called upon a second time for comment. After posing another question, an Abberville city marshal on duty at the meeting grabbed Hargrave and removed her from the meeting. KATC reports, that handcuffs were later placed on Hargrave as she was removed from the building.
It was unclear if the marshal was acting on his own accord or on the orders of board members.
Superintendent Jerome Puyau says he called to ensure that police knew the system was not pressing charges against Hargrave, but she was booked anyway, records show. Hargrave was booked into the city jail for remaining after being forbidden and resisting an officer.
City Prosecutor Ike Funderburk told KATC that the School System officials had called him this morning to reiterate that the system wasn't interested in pursuing charges.
Full video can be viewed here.