2 teachers arrested in Florida after teacher chokes student: Video

Two Florida educators were arrested after a video surfaced of a teacher putting a student in a chokehold earlier this year. An assistant principal was nabbed for allegedly trying to cover up the disturbing incident.

Bennie Leverett, a teacher at Progress Village Middle School in Tampa, and assistant principal Tashiska Fabian were arrested in connection with the Jan. 18 brawl, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office announced Friday.

According to the sheriff's office and the video, Leverett, 39, placed the student in a chokehold, “restricting the student's ability to breathe.”

According to an affidavit cited by the Tampa Bay Times, Leverett held the 14-year-old student in a chokehold for about four minutes and even dragged him to the ground at one point while still holding him.

The teacher reportedly asked the students who filmed the brawl to delete the footage before leaving the classroom, the news agency reported.

When Fabian, 41, learned of the incident, she met with Leverett and the student but failed to report him to police or the child abuse hotline, the HCSO said.

She also asked a student who recorded the scene to delete the video, it said.

However, police were able to secure the video in which the teacher said, “He's not responding to me,” to which a student replied, “He can't! He's dying! You're killing him!”

In February, the Sheriff's Office and the Department of Children and Families visited the school.

Leverett, who was arrested in March, is charged with child abuse. Fabian, who was arrested Wednesday, is charged with failure to report child abuse and is being held on $2,500 bail.

Fabian was “removed from service” and “dismissed” in February, while Leverett left the school district in March, Hillsborough County Public Schools told WFLA.

“It is deeply disturbing that a teacher would harm a student, but it is even more disturbing when a person in a position of authority fails to do the right thing and report the crime,” said Sheriff Chad Chronister.

“This is a complete breach of trust within our community.”

The investigation is ongoing.