FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – A teacher was arrested on Wednesday after physically removing a student from the classroom in a central Florida middle school after refusing to stop playing music on his computer, sheriff’s officials said.
Jeffrey Paffumi, 47, picked the 14-year-old student up out of his chair, carried him into the hallway and pushed him, according to a statement released by the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office.
Another student at Buddy Taylor Middle School in Palm Coast captured the Tuesday morning incident on video.
Paffumi is charged with simple batter, which is a misdemeanor.
A charging affidavit said the teacher asked the student to mute the music during his first-period class., The Daytona Beach News-Journal reported. The student told investigators the teacher muted the music and the student unmuted it. They went back and forth two times before the teacher took the computer.
The student used an expletive, telling the teacher to put down his computer.
The student told investigators he was put in a choke hold by the teacher, but his airway was never restricted. The student had no marks or bruises on his body, the report states.
Paffumi was released on a $500 bond. Jail records did not list a lawyer for him.