An argument regarding mask-wearing allegedly led to an assault perpetrated by a parent against a Sutter Creek Elementary School teacher.
The assault happened about an hour following the end of the first day of school on Wednesday in the Amador County town.
“The teacher was bleeding,” Torie Gibson, Amador County Unified School District Superintendent, shared to KCRA 3. “He had some lacerations on his face, some bruising on his face, and a pretty good knot on the back of his head.”
The school’s principal allegedly received verbal assault from a male parent who saw his child exited the school building with a face mask on, Gibson said.
The tension rose when the male faculty member intervened until a physical quarrel transpired and resulted in injuries. The teacher was brought to the hospital for medical attention and was released that night.
The parent involved in the altercation was disappointed as the school required everyone inside its campus to wear a mask, Gibson said. Fully vaccinated teachers are allowed to not wear masks indoors if no students are not around, as stated in the district’s policy, which is in line with the state health department’s indoor mask mandate.
In a letter to families, Gibson stated that “assaulting a staff member will never be tolerated on any school campus” and demanded the people to “take a breath, pause, listen and walk away if necessary.”
“Remember, we are not the ones making the rules/mandates, we are the ones required to follow/enforce them if we want to keep our doors open and students at school five days a week,” part of the letter reads.
Provoked emails have been sent to Gibson since the letter was released.
The assaulted teacher gathered support from the parents who spoke with KCRA 3.
“When it bleeds out onto and into locations where our children are, that’s not okay,” one of the parents exclaimed.
The parent involved in the altercation was banned within the school premises as a police report regarding the incident was already submitted with Sutter Creek Police, SFGate reported.
“If it’s appropriate to press charges, we will do that,” Gibson said. “If they tell me it’s not appropriate, I will trust them.”
