MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – An 18-year-old student was out on a $5,000 bond on Saturday facing a battery charge.
His mother, Darcheema Pierce, said a Miami Northwestern Senior High School teacher was to blame for the recent arrest of her son, Conley Williams, who is special needs. She said he and the teacher had been clashing in the classroom before she escalated the situation on Thursday by grabbing his arm while scolding him for not greeting her.
“He said he went to the class to speak to some people and the teacher grabbed him by his arm and he turned around and grabbed the teacher,” Pierce said.
Police officers reported talking to witnesses before arresting Williams on Thursday and accusing him of punching his teacher twice in the chest and once in her left arm in the classroom at the school at 1100 NW 71 St., near Miami’s Little Haiti neighborhood.
Pierce stood next to Williams when he appeared before Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Mindy Glazer on Friday.
“I don’t understand why the teacher wasn’t arrested because the teacher grabbed him first, and he responded,” Pierce said.
Williams is facing a battery charge. Glazer ordered him to stay away from his teacher and set his bond at $5,000.
“You need to be respectful to your teachers and keep your hands to yourself,” Glazer told Williams.