The district said that videos showed Fritz, dressed in a Halloween costume, appearing to wrestle a student on the floor of a classroom at the Land Park campus. As word spread of the incident, students said friends began widely sharing classroom footage Friday afternoon. A seven-second clip posted on Twitter shows a teacher dressed in sunglasses; a puffy, red, polka dot hat; and black shirt, growling and throwing a student to the ground while he’s still seated in his desk. The teacher appears to be grabbing for the student’s cellphone.
David Garcia, 15, was the student in the video. The 11th-grader said after school Friday that Fritz entered the English class singing and dancing, but began cursing and yelling. Garcia said the teacher approached him for no known reason and pulled him from his desk. Garcia said he laughed initially, then told Fritz to stop. Garcia said Fritz began teaching with no explanation of the behavior. Garcia said he and another student went to the vice principal after class and reported the behavior. Garcia said he was also interviewed by police.
Administrators removed Fritz, 58, from the class and called law enforcement. Sacramento police later arrested him on suspicion of willful cruelty toward a child and said there were signs of alcohol impairment. He was released Friday night
Update: Police identify McClatchy High teacher arrested after allegedly wrestling student | The Sacramento Bee
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