PALATKA, Fla. – The mother of a 12-year-old boy is speaking out after she said her son was injured by his teacher Monday.
According to the Palatka Police Department, 41-year-old James Bellamy was arrested for child abuse after he struck a student in the face with his elbow, and then that student’s tooth fell out.
Toni Foster shared a video of the incident with News4JAX, but parts of the incident are missing from the recording.
“That’s my son in the white. When he tried to dunk the ball it looks like and he messed around and hit Mr. Bellamy,” Foster said.
Foster said after her son accidentally hit Bellamy Monday at Putnam Academy of Arts and Sciences, the teacher was seen throwing the ball at the 12-year-old.
A bit later, the teacher dribbles the ball toward him, and that’s when Foster said the teacher elbowed her son his tooth was knocked out.
“He tried to knock him out, he did. That hurt me,” Foster said.
Bellamy was arrested by the Palatka Police Department for child abuse and battery.
The Putnam County Clerk of the Court Website shows Bellamy has been ordered not to contact the family.
Foster says since Monday, her son has been in the hospital twice.
In addition to his left tooth being knocked out, doctors tell her his right one is now loose.
“It just breaks my heart,” Foster said. “His mental health. That’s my biggest concern seeing him in pain, hearing him cry and when I go check on him, he’s just lying there.”
Foster said despite what happened, she doesn’t wish harm on him, and the biggest takeaway she wants from this is for schools to give teachers better tools to handle their emotions so another person’s child isn’t injured.
“Probably more training on how to deal with situations when you get upset because we’re all human,” Foster said.
News4JAX reached out to Putnam Academy of Arts and Sciences for a statement on the incident.
They replied with a statement that reads in part:
“James Bellamy was involved in an incident during which he injured a student. Mr. Bellamy was immediately terminated…While we cannot comment further due to student privacy laws, we want to assure the community that the safety and welfare of our students remains our top priority.”
We also followed up with them asking about the video and we are waiting to hear back.