Georgia elementary school teacher arrested after slamming 7-year-old boy against a wall

A Georgia art teacher has been arrested after a video surfaced showing him slamming a 7-year-old student against a wall.  

A warrant for Anthony O’Bryant’s arrest was issued a month after the incident, which took place at Redan Elementary School. When the incident first occurred, school administrators allowed O’Bryant to return to the classroom. It was only after the video was revealed that O’Bryant was placed on leave and eventually resigned. 

O’Bryant was charged with simple battery and was bonded out the next day.  

A spokesperson for the school district said, “The teacher was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation. While the investigation was underway, the teacher resigned.” 

According to WSB-TV, the boy’s mother, Jasmine Clifton, explained that she had transferred her son to the school just three weeks before the incident. She expressed her distress upon viewing the video, stating, “I was heartbroken. I can’t watch the video again. I can’t see it again, to know that he was done that way and I wasn’t there to at least pick him up off the ground.” 

O'Bryant initially claimed he was trying to stop the boy from hitting another student. However, the video showed more aggressive actions. The teacher later apologized, admitting he had lost his temper and felt overwhelmed by the students. 

Clifton said that her son suffered a head injury from the incident and expressed frustration that school administrators allowed the teacher to continue teaching before viewing the video. She also noted that her child had been diagnosed with autism, and the school failed to inform the teacher of this condition. 

“Simple battery was too light of a charge,” Clifton said. “That’s a 7-year-old child. I feel like he should definitely be charged with a felony, and he should serve time.”