Brevard teacher who used MMA move to break up fight cleared of wrongdoing

Incident happened at Space Coast Junior/Senior High School

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. – A teacher at Space Coast Junior/Senior High School won’t face criminal charges for how he broke up a fight between two 17-year-old girls last month during school.

Video recorded by another student showed the teacher putting an MMA-like move on one of the girls.

The investigation report from the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office concluded the teacher who restrained the 11th-grader didn’t do anything wrong.

The report reads that the girl with the teacher’s legs wrapped around her “never had trouble breathing, and she never lost consciousness.”

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In May, the girl’s father told News 6 reporter James Sparvero that his daughter did get hurt.

As a result, Larry Walker said he wanted to press charges.

“I was furious,” the father said. “That’s a move you put on a grown man if you’re out on the streets fighting or in the ring fighting. You don’t do that to no kid.”

Sheriff Wayne Ivey also watched video of the teacher breaking up the fight. He supported the teacher.

“Bravo to the teacher for doing their job, for getting involved,” Sheriff Ivey said.

The sheriff said the fight between the girls was very violent, and the teacher’s technique to get it under control was not excessive or out of line.

The sheriff also addressed the girl’s parents.

“I understand that the mom and dad are mad at the teacher,” Ivey said. “How about being mad at your little kid that was involved in a violent confrontation at school and had to be restrained? Stop whining, hold your kids accountable, teach them right from wrong, and the teacher did what the teacher needed to do to control the situation.”

Sheriff Ivey went on to say that if the teacher ever gets tired of teaching, he’s welcome to become a deputy.

“We’ll take him,” the sheriff said.

The report read that the girl went to the doctor complaining of some shoulder pain after the fight, but she didn’t need any special treatment.

The report continued that had the teacher not been there to break up the fight, it’s likely the girls involved could have really hurt each other.

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About the Author

James joined News 6 in March 2016 as the Brevard County Reporter. His arrival was the realization of a three-year effort to return to the state where his career began. James is from Pittsburgh, PA and graduated from Penn State in 2009 with a degree in Broadcast Journalism.

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