WASHINGTON — A fourth-grade teacher at a D.C. elementary school is facing an assault charge in connection to her actions toward a student earlier this week.
Lacey Thorton, 32, of Capitol Heights, Maryland, has been charged with simple assault, D.C. police said. A female student at Cleveland Elementary School — in the Shaw neighborhood — claimed Thorton had slapped her and grabbed her by her hair Tuesday in a school hallway.
The fourth-grader told the principal immediately after it happened, and the principal reported the incident to police.
An officer came to the school Wednesday to review security footage. According to police, video shows the student being pushed out of a classroom into the hallway. When the door closes on her, she begins kicking on it.
When it reopens, Thorton is seen stepping out. Thorton approaches the student and strikes the back of her head with an open hand. The teacher could also be seen grabbing the back of the fourth-grader’s neck and pushing her away from the classroom.
Thorton was arrested Friday.
