The Snook ISD faculty member seen slamming a 5-year-old student in a viral video posted on Thursday is no longer employed with the school district, according to a statement released Saturday.
Troy Vann, a former behavioral specialist at Snook ISD, had been removed from duty after a video that showed him forcibly shoving a student multiple times was posted to Facebook. The school district said they were awaiting a full review and an investigation into the incident.
The video shows a man, identified as Vann, lifting a child from his right arm and slamming him onto a bean bag multiple times. The man is heard saying, "When I tell you to do something, you do it, boy! When I tell you to sit on that blue beanbag, you do it. Let's try it again."
The video taken and posted to Facebook on Thursday night has been viewed at least 200,000 times and shared more than 7,000 times.
When approached by News Channel 25, Vann said he wants to tell his side of the story but he has to go through the school district's protocol.
News Channel 25 also spoke to Jessica Boson, the mother of the boy seen in the video. She said that her son didn't tell her about the incident at first because he was worried he did something to deserve being treated that way.
"I don't trust anyone in that school now," Boson said, "It is very inappropriate the way he handled my child and I wouldn't even handle my child in that manner."
Boson has since withdrawn her son from the Snook school and will enroll him at a school in Killeen where his father lives.
Stacy Williams, the mother of the boy who recorded the incident, couldn't believe her son when he told her what happened.
"You don't manhandle a child. You don't mistreat a child. We put our kids in school to be protected and to learn, have an education, not to be disrespected, mistreated, abused, or neglected," William said. She told News Channel 25 she also has since withdrawn her son from Snook ISD.
The Burleson County Sheriff's Office said on Friday morning that there is an open investigation into the matter. The sheriff's office said they first learned about the video through social media and immediately opened an investigation.
Snook ISD superintendent Brenda W. Krchnak sent out an updated statement Saturday afternoon:
The Snook ISD Administration became aware of an incident of concern on the morning of October 13 in which a Snook ISD faculty member, employed as a Behavior Specialist, acted in an inappropriate manner when dealing with a young student. The incident was immediately reported by another student witness to the principal. The actions of the employee are upsetting and alarming to the Snook ISD administrators and trustees. The actions depicted in the video are not condoned or authorized in any way by the school. The individual in question is no longer employed with Snook ISD. Snook ISD is working with law enforcement and the Texas Education Agency in investigating this matter. Before the incident of Thursday, October 13, the District had no indications of concern regarding this employee's conduct, and all required background checks were conducted prior to his employment in August 2015.
The Secondary Principal did an excellent job in quickly obtaining and preserving available video evidence from school cameras and the student's mobile device. As the student who made the recording was not permitted to possess a recording of another student, the principal took the video recording from the student, and preserved it as a part of the initial investigation. The instructor was immediately removed from duty pending a full review of the matter.
As Superintendent, I am ordering a review of Snook ISD faculty and staff use of discipline and restraint. Our top priority is for our students to be treated in a safe and respectful manner when they are in our care. Our principals are working with our school community to address parent and student concerns and to communicate our commitment to the safe and equitable treatment of all of our students. We will continue to communicate important information about this matter to our school community while respecting student and family privacy guidelines. We are hopeful that our school community can come together at this time and work toward a common goal of improving in all facets and preparing our students for the future.
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