The above video is KOIN news coverage from the incident in 2014.
SALEM, OR (KOIN) – A former teacher and the Salem-Keizer School District are facing a $40,000 lawsuit after a student’s shirt was ripped off in front of classmates.
Carrie McCann, according to the lawsuit, had been a teacher with the district for 23 years. In December 2014, she resigned. No criminal charges were ever filed.
According to the lawsuit, on Oct. 17, 2014, McCann was addressing a “verbal altercation” with another student.
The student who had her shirt ripped off reportedly began to have a panic attack. She tried to leave the classroom “for her own safety,” according to the lawsuit.
As the girl tried to leave the classroom, McCann reportedly pressed herself against the door and told the student she could not leave. The student was able to open the door and make it past McCann.
At that point, McCann is said to have pulled the girl back into the classroom.
The girl and McCann struggled and McCann wrapped both arms around the student. As the girl struggled with McCann, her top came off “exposing [the student’s] upper undergarments to the entire class,” according to the lawsuit.
“The fellow students gasped in horror,” according to the lawsuit.
The student began to cry. A fellow student reportedly said, “oh, wow” as the girl stood in the classroom covering herself.
The lawsuit claims that the girl was subjected to unwanted and offensive contact. It also alleges that she sustained physical injuries and emotional distress “from being pulled and being half-naked in front of her class.”
The girl reportedly suffered an acute lower back strain, left hip contusion and left knee contusions.
Video of the incident was captured on video.
According to the lawsuit, the girl “suffered severe public embarrassment. Not only by the immediate students within the classroom, but by the multiple news organizations who reported on this altercation. Just one of the internet postings was viewed over 400,000 times.”
KOIN 6 News has not been able to reach the Salem-Keizer School District 24J or McCann for comment regarding the pending lawsuit.
