MADISON — A Madison high school assistant principal who was involved in an altercation with a student has the backing of the school district, Superintendent Ed Nichols said Thursday.
On Wednesday, an assistant principal at James Clemens High School went onto a bus to break up a fight when he was hit and bitten. In defending himself, he struck a student who was involved in the altercation.
“Our folks have a tough job,” Nichols said. “I’m never going to tell someone, if they’re being assaulted, they can’t defend themselves.
“We’re going to protect our employees.”
Nichols said, while the bus was loading at the school, the driver called for assistance.
“The driver could sense the altercation was brewing and radioed” administration, the superintendent said. Two students were in the aisle “in each other’s face.”
Nichols said other students were unsuccessful in separating the two students.
“There was a student who helped to defuse the situation,” he said. “We had several students on the bus who were trying to separate them.”
One of the students in the altercation was removed from the bus and, in the attempt to remove the second student, the assistant principal was assaulted.
“He was was hit six to ten times across the back of his head,” Nichols said. He was also bitten twice – once hard enough that it went through his shirt and broke the skin.
While being attacked, the assistant principal swung, making contact with the student.
“The administrator felt a need to defend himself,” Nichols said.
The two students have been suspended and their parents met with administrative staff and Madison police, he said.
A report has been filed with the Madison Police Department and the Limestone County Sheriff’s Department is also investigating. State law requires the sheriff’s department be notified when a school employee is assaulted.
“While we hate that the altercation happened, we don’t ever want altercations between students, we also know that there comes a point in time … that (school personnel) have to have an opportunity to defend themselves from further harm,” Nichols said.
“That’s what happened. This administrator was assaulted.”
(Madison City Schools/Contributed)
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