HOUSTON – An HISD middle school teacher is accused of violently assaulting an eighth grade student who he felt was ignoring his orders to work and, instead, threw away a piece of trash.
Errick Dewaune Waters is charged with injury to a child. He declined to talk to the media, citing instructions from his attorney.
The incident happened at Edison Middle School on April 22.
According to court documents, after breakfast was over, Waters told the students to begin their assignments. One of the students got up and walked to the front of the class to throw away some trash, and Waters told him once again to sit down and begin working.
The student has difficulty speaking and understanding English, and did not respond immediately, investigators said.
Waters got upset and grabbed the student by the shoulder, then pushed him in the chest and into a table. Investigators said Waters also grabbed the student by the shirt collar and began to choke him, cutting off his air supply.
When the student pushed Waters off of him, Waters threw him down on the floor and pinned him with his knee.
Another student pushed the emergency call button and when the front office asked about the emergency, Waters replied "everything was fine," according to court documents.
Witnesses said Waters clinched his fist in front of the student's face and said, "You're lucky I didn't rip up your face!"
Waters released the student and the student walked away and angrily punched a desk.
Waters then attacked the student again, threw him back to the floor and told him to clean up the room, witnesses said.
Another student helped with the cleanup and after they were finished, Waters allegedly walked up to the teen, stomped him on the foot and said, "This is your fault."
The student left the room and reported the incident to the principal.
Investigators said the student had two deep red marks on the right side of his neck and a bruise on his left knee, which were evidence of the attack.
Charges were filed against the teacher and his bond was set at $5,000.
"If somebody did that to my child I would do the same thing. I would put charges on him. Especially a teacher. A teacher needs to have patience," Angelica Celedon, a concerned parent said.
HISD released the following statement:
"HISD Police on Wednesday filed a felony charge of injury to a child against an Edison Middle School teacher. Police allege that the teacher, Errick Waters, injured an eighth-grade male student on Friday, April 22. Waters was immediately reassigned out of the classroom after the incident was reported. Police are continuing to investigate. HISD takes situations such as this very seriously, as the safety of students is always the district’s top priority."