PE teacher not guilty of ‘strangle’ assault on pupil
AN ANGRY school pupil who admitted wanting to punch his PE teacher in the face shouted at him: “I’ll press charges against you, you d***head.”
The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, alleged head of PE Graham Halsey assaulted him by strangling him as he tried to walk on to a football pitch.
Dad of two Mr Halsey, who has worked as a teacher for 20 years, denied the charge and was found not guilty following a trial at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court.
The court heard the incident happened at lunchtime on May 21 last year at a high school in Cardiff.
Matthew Greenish, prosecuting, said Mr Halsey tried to speak to the boy about his behaviour that morning after he threw a bag in the corridor.
He saw him at lunchtime about to enter the 3G football pitch with a group of friends and tried to take him to one side to speak about the earlier incident.
The court heard the pupil ignored him, ducked underneath his arm, which was raised to try to block the entrance, and “barged” past him on to the pitch.
When he was interviewed, the teenager said Mr Halsey “strangled” him and pulled him off the pitch “hard”.
He told the police: “Me and my mates walked to the football pitch. They all went in, but he stood in my way to stop me going on.
“So I went under his arm, but he put his arm around my neck and grabbed my shoulder from behind. He pulled me off the pitch.”
Asked how he felt, the teenager replied: “Angry. I wanted to punch him in the face. He strangled me.”
And questioned about whether he said anything to his teacher, he responded: “I’ll press charges against you, you d***head. You strangled me, you f***ing c***.”
He told officers he “rugby-tackled” his teacher by dropping his shoulder into his waist, knocking him backwards.
The boy said he did not suffer any injuries. He explained Mr Halsey had given him a detention earlier that day for running in a corridor and throwing a bag.
Asked how he felt about being told off and put in detention, he replied: “I didn’t care.”
The court heard school policy on physical restraint said it should only be used as a “last resort”. Mr Greenish said: “We say it was not last resort in this case.”
Mr Halsey, from Heol Corn Du in Beacon Heights, Merthyr Tydfil, denied common assault.
He said he wanted to speak to the boy about why his behaviour was dangerous and thought they had a good relationship, as the pupil liked PE.
The 42-year-old, who was responsible for running a number of extra-curricular sports clubs, said he raised his arms to block the pupil’s way on to the pitch.
He told the court the child swore at him, ducked under his arms and “barged” past him, knocking him backwards.
Mr Halsey said he was supervising about 60 pupils on the pitch and told the boy he needed to calm down.
He added: “He pushed me in the chest, backwards on to the pitch.”
Jeffrey Jones, defending, asked: “Did you try and grab his neck?” The defendant replied: “I did not.”
Asked how the incident made him feel, he replied: “Scared and surprised. Surprised he got so aggressive so quickly. I was concerned for the pupils behind me.”
He said he used physical contact both in self-defence and in a bid to maintain order.
The court heard Mr Halsey, who had been working at the school for four years, had no previous convictions or cautions.
In a statement read out in court, the head teacher confirmed he had never received any complaints about Mr Halsey or had any concerns about his conduct.
The deputy head teacher said she was called to the incident after Mr Halsey reported he had been assaulted by a pupil. When she arrived, the pupil claimed it was the other way around.
She said she was “not surprised” the boy was involved, as he had been in trouble in the past.
The court heard the child had been in trouble previously for incidents like swearing at teachers, and throwing equipment.
Deputy District Judge Mark Layton said: “I do not consider this amounts to assault and I find you not guilty of the charge, which is now duly dismissed.”