A Forney Independent School District teacher is under investigation after allegedly strapping a 10-year-old student to a chair on Feb. 22.
An unnamed Crosby Elementary School teacher is under investigation by the Forney ISD Police Department for allegedly taping Texas fourth-grader Zye Johnson to the school chair, his mother, Charlotte Johnson, told NBC 5.
At 6 @NBCDFW
This is 10yo Zye. A 4th grader in Forney.
Mom claims his teacher taped him to his chair in class.
When she left room he says kids started hitting him—One said: “I’m going to slap you as hard as Will Smith slapped Chris Rock.”Forney ISD police investigating. pic.twitter.com/gpBiAchAWE
— Maria Guerrero (@Maria_NBC5) February 27, 2023
Johnson said a school official, who reviewed the campus security footage of the incident, told her that Zye could be seen tossing a football in the elementary school hallway but stopped when the teacher under investigation asked him to quit. Shortly after Zye stopped throwing the ball, the teacher allegedly pulled him into her classroom, the outlet reported.
“She went to another teacher’s room to get some tape. She came back into the classroom and that’s when she began to tape him,” Johnson told NBC5. “I said, ‘When she started to tape you, what did you say?’ He said, ‘I asked her: What did I do? I wasn’t doing anything. I was just walking.’ And I said, ‘What did she say back?’ He said, ‘She didn’t say anything she just kept taping.'”
As the teacher reportedly returned the tape to a different classroom, Johnson said her son was allegedly attacked by other students, including one who threatened to “slap him as hard as Will Smith slapped Chris Rock.” Zye covered his face with his hands from the blows while the students allegedly sat back laughing, Johnson told NBC5.
“As a parent, you’re supposed to be there to protect your child and the fact that I wasn’t there to protect him, that breaks my heart,” Johnson said. (RELATED: Suspects Dump Dead Body In Front Of Elementary School After Carjacking, Shootout: Police)
The teacher allegedly bound Zye’s body but left his hands free. Zye broke out of the taped restraints and asked the teacher to go to the nurse’s office when the teacher returned to the classroom. The teacher allegedly told Zye, “You know I was just playing with you,” Johnson said.
A Forney ISD spokesman told NBC5 that the school district wasn’t sure the incident occurred. “We are aware of the allegations, and an investigation is underway. There are two sides to every story, and we need to allow time for the investigation process to take place before commenting further,” Forney ISD said in a statement to the outlet.
Johnson questioned the school district’s statement, NBC5 reported. “Why is there two sides to every story? The assistant principal and principal both told me that she admitted to doing it. She told the principal she thought it was a joke. She told my son she was just playing,” Johnson said.
Crosby Elementary School and the Forney ISD Police Department did not respond to the Daily Caller’s request for comment.