EL PORTAL, Fla. – A part-time security monitor at Horace Mann Middle School in El Portal was arrested Thursday morning on charges of child abuse without great bodily harm and battery, school officials confirmed.
The incident was captured on cellphone video around noon Wednesday.
“Try me. Let me tell you something. This hallway, I run. When that bell ring, you in my hallway,” Antwan Ruffin, 40, says, pushing a student.
“Yo,” the student says after being pushed. The student is then seen waving his hand in front of his face, appearing to insinuate Ruffin was breathing too closely to him or had foul breath.
“Yo, what?” Ruffin responded.
The security monitor then strikes the boy in the chest before the student tells him he’s going to the office.
“Go,” Ruffin says. “I’ll walk you to the office.”
According to Ruffin’s arrest report, he punched the student in the right upper chest area after becoming upset that the student refused to go to class after the bell rang.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools released the following statement about the incident: “Miami-Dade County Public Schools is deeply troubled and saddened by the actions of this individual, as they are not representative of our caring and supportive workforce. We expect our employees to lead by example and adhere to the core values of our school system. As a result of this arrest, the District will be taking all necessary disciplinary actions against this individual, up to and including dismissal.”
Ruffin faces serious charges, including one misdemeanor and one felony.