Teacher punches student, 8, over broken crayon

Teacher David Grant, 36

An elementary school art teacher is in jail on child abuse charges after police say he struck an 8-year-old student in the face over a broken crayon.

Third-grader Ronald Brazzel, a student at Sunland Elementary School in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., is accusing teacher David Grant, 36, of punching him during class Nov. 5., WPLG-TV in Miami reported.

The boy revealed markings on his right eye from the incident.

"I didn't notice the bruise on his eye until he came back from football practice," Jennifer Brazzel, the boy's mother told the station. "I was like, 'Ronnie, come here. What happened to your eye?'"

"He goes, 'Oh, the art teacher beat me up.' And I said, 'What do you mean, the art teacher beat you up?'" Brazzel said.

The boy continued, "I fell down. (He) hit me with his left hand."

Fort Lauderdale police said Grant used a "loosely closed fist" to strike the boy near his eye.

Ronald Brazzel said it happened after he broke his teacher's crayon.

"I broke his crayon and was, like, laughing at him," Brazzel said.

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The boy's family claims the teacher has a history of violence, though WPLG was unable to find criminal records for him in local counties. One of Brazzel's siblings said Grant acted hostile toward him in another class.

"He got in my face, and he was big. Real big," Brazzel's brother said. "And it was really scary."

"He was violent from the beginning," the boys' mother said. "He shouldn't have had that position from the beginning. I guess he just overdid it that day."

On Tuesday, Grant turned himself in to Fort Lauderdale police. He has been charged with cruelty toward a child and infliction of physical and mental injury. His bond is set at $1,000.

The school district has not fired him, but it told the station Grant has been reassigned until the investigation is completed.

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