Cobb teacher investigated for allegedly punching 14-year-old in gym

The boy's father was upset the teacher was back in school Thursday.

A Cobb County teacher is being investigated after a parent alleged that the teacher punched his 14-year-old son.

Channel 2 Action News spoke with the father, who wasn’t happy to see the teacher back at Wheeler High School. The teacher was not identified by Channel 2 because he has not been charged with a crime.

“We are aware of the situation and are currently investigating. Per district policy, we are unable to comment on personnel matters,” a spokesperson for the Cobb County School District told the station.

The father, identified by Channel 2 as M. Moore, said Thursday the district told him the teacher was gone for two days but was back in school.

The spokesperson declined to say if the teacher had been on administrative leave.

“Freaking unbelievable,” Moore told Channel 2. “He’s a danger to me.”

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The father said the incident started over a volleyball being knocked out of the teacher’s hand.

“My son said (the coach) turned to his side and popped him. We’re talking about a volleyball,” Moore said.

Moore said the teacher lost his temper and swung at his son because he thought he was the student who knocked the ball out of his hand.

Following the incident, another student was arrested. Cobb schools police arrested Dante Walker, 19, for allegedly punching the teacher. Moore said Walker stood up for his son.

An arrest warrant confirms that Walker was arrested about 11:20 a.m. on Monday for allegedly punching the coach.

“He punched him in the face and knocked him out. I think the teacher deserved everything he got,” Moore said. “He’s lucky I didn’t get to him first.”

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Wheeler’s principal Peter Giles sent a message to parents addressing the “confrontation between a student and a teacher on our campus.”

Giles gave no specifics and did not mention the teacher’s status, but he did say they took the matter “very seriously” and said “the safety of our students and staff is our top priority.”

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