Police say both parent and Houston Secondary teacher accused of assault
Police are continuing their investigations into the incident where a teacher armed herself with a cutlass during an altercation with a parent and a student at Houston Secondary School on Thursday. She explained that she was protecting herself after being attacked.
The police in a press release yesterday stated that the incident which occurred on Thursday at about 10:30 hours at the Houston Secondary School, Georgetown, involved a teacher, 43-year-old Kimone Gentle; a parent, a 43-year-old of Grove Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara; and her 17-year-old son who is a fifth form student of the school.
Gentle told the police that at about 10:30hrs on Thursday, she was sitting in an office when the parent and her son entered the school. She reportedly approached the woman and enquired about her relationship with the student, to which the woman allegedly responded in a loud tone saying, “I am his mother.” The teacher asked the parent to lower her voice since exams were ongoing in the various classrooms, to which the parent responded, saying: “All ayo teachers got a problem with meh child and I gon teach you something today.”
The teacher further alleged that the parent took out her phone, approached and began videoing her. Gentle asked the parent twice to remove the phone from her face, which she ignored while allegedly behaving aggressively towards the teacher. During the commotion, the parent’s hand hit the teacher’s reading glasses, which fell to the ground.
The police said that the parent stated that on Thursday she went to the school, along with her son to meet with the school’s Headteacher concerning an incident her son was involved in. Upon entering the school, she met Gentle and told her the purpose of her visit. The woman further claimed that while waiting to see the Head, the teacher enquired about her relationship with the student and she told the teacher that she was the student’s mother. The parent said the teacher began complaining about her son’s attitude and conduct in school.
The parent claimed that she replied to Gentle by saying: “All ayo advantaging my son,” when it is alleged that the teacher abused her with a series of expletives. The woman explained that she then pulled out her cell phone and began recording the teacher’s conduct towards her, during which the teacher approached her and hit the phone out of her hands, causing it to be damaged.
As a result, an argument ensued between the parent and the teacher, which turned into a scuffle. During the scuffle, the teacher allegedly picked up a chair and dealt the parent several lashes about her body, causing her to lose her balance and fall to the ground.
The male student, upon seeing what was happening, went to his mother’s aid when he was also allegedly assaulted by
Kimone Gentle
the teacher. Other teachers separated the combatants, and the school’s security escorted the parent and her son out of the compound. The teacher then armed herself with a cutlass and charged after the parent and her son but was eventually calmed down by her colleagues.
Both teacher and parent were subsequently arrested and taken to the Ruimveldt Police Station. They have since been released and were expected to return yesterday.