Teacher in school fight video is placed on reassignment by JCPS

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WAVE) - A teacher accused of fighting a JCPS student and gripping his hair, has been reassigned to “non-instructional duties pending the outcome of the investigation,” JCPS confirmed Tuesday morning.

Videos of William Bennett, a science teacher at Marion C. Moore High School, surfaced Monday morning on social media. The videos show Bennett on top of a student on the ground as two other students try to pull Bennett off.

Other videos show Bennett gripping the student’s hair and not letting go. A security monitor is seen trying to pull Bennett back and then trying to pry his hands from the student’s hair.

In an interview with WAVE 3 News , the student involved admitted to striking Bennett before the fight.

He said he did not hear Bennett call him a racial slur but did hear him say that he would “be another black boy shot.”

The student is a gunshot survivor.

Protesters outside of the school Monday asked for Bennett to be fired immediately. The district said it is a personnel matter and they can’t comment further.

They added that JCPS requires its employees to get a background check and provide a letter from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services that shows there are no administrative findings of abuse or neglect, a spokesperson for the district said.

WAVE 3 News Troubleshooters have requested Bennett’s personnel records from JCPS and from the other districts win which he taught prior to joining Moore.

This story will be updated.

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