Teacher Charged With Assault After Being Caught on Video Throwing a Hockey Stick at a Child’s Face

(KNSI) — A teacher at Princeton Primary School captured on surveillance video throwing a hockey stick at a student’s face is now charged with third-degree assault.

On March 28th, students picked up hockey sticks at the end of gym class at Princeton Primary. Eight-year-old Easton Johnson is seen gently tossing his stick on the pile in the video. The teacher, Kim Neubauer, picks up the stick and hurls it directly at Easton’s face. Easton immediately put his hands over his face, and Neubauer seemingly scolded him as he picked up his stick again to try and return it to the pile before turning around to run out of the gym. The impact split Easton’s lip, bruised his face, and knocked out a tooth.

The Minnesota Department of Education sent the Johnson family a letter admitting Easton was subject to maltreatment. The Princeton Police Department initially declined to investigate or press charges.

Neubauer was placed on an unpaid leave of absence for the remainder of the school year after the allegations were substantiated, but she was allowed to retire, and even hailed on the district’s Facebook page, thanking her for her years of service in a now-deleted post congratulating her on her retirement, saying “you will be missed!” The district later admitted the post was an error and that it was taken down.

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