PORT RICHEY, Fla — A Pasco County teacher has been arrested after investigators say she threw a student across a classroom.
According to an arrest report, Danielle Barton, 42, was working at Chasco Elementary on April 27 when an 8-year-old student began smacking his lips in class. Barton told the student to stop but he continued.
That's when investigators say Barton grabbed the student's arm, turned it behind his back, lifted him from his seat and dragged him about 15 feet to a neighboring classroom. Once the two entered the room, Barton threw the child across the ground where he slid about 7 feet on his chest and hit his head on a cabinet, the report says.
Two teachers were in the classroom and witnessed the child being thrown, investigators say. They would report the incident to the school's principal.
When talking to investigators, one of the teachers said Barton threw the child to the ground "like he was a baseball player sliding into home plate." The other teacher described Barton throwing the child to the ground "like a sack of potatoes."
One of the teachers checked to see if the child was hurt and told investigators she heard him say, "that wasn't fair, she shouldn't have thrown me."
Barton faces one count of child abuse.
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