Skip to comments.

Posted on 12/23/2001 2:11:10 PM PST by ZULU

Roxbury teacher breaks up fight, gets indicted

By Rob Jennings, Daily Record

ROXBURY — A high school teacher who interceded in a brawl between two students has been suspended without pay after being indicted on child endangerment charges stemming from the incident.

Richard Schwab, 34, of Hopatcong was suspended by the school board Monday night because of the Nov. 28 indictment, charging one count of endangering the welfare of a child. The indictment was handed up by a Morris County grand jury.

The incident that led to the charge took place at the high school April 4, according to Capt. Christopher Linne of the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office. The state Division of Youth and Family Services submitted a report on the incident. School board member Ed Hill, relating a description from another teacher who witnessed the fight, said Saturday that the two fighting students "would not break it up by verbally being told to stop."

Schwab then grabbed one of the combatants. "The boy that (Schwab) grabbed threw his arm over his head and grabbed the teacher and pulled them both down," Hill said.

Schwab and the student landed on the floor, Hill said, and the student apparently suffered a minor injury.

School officials stood by Schwab for more than five months after the altercation. He finished out the school year, apparently without any other problems, and returned to the classroom in September. Schwab was suspended, but with pay, in the first week of October after the DYFS report was prepared.

The teacher’s plight is not sitting well with many of his colleagues.

"I’ve talked to teachers at the school, and my understanding is that he was merely trying to break up a fight, and stop one student from hurting another," Hill said.

"It seems this process has been carried way out of proportion," Hill added. "What happens the next time a teacher has to break up a fight in the school? They’ll be worried about getting hauled before a grand jury."

The indictment reads that Schwab "did knowingly cause harm" to a 16-year-old student, whose identity is being withheld by the prosecutor’s office. The student received a minor wound and was treated at a medical center, Linne said. The contents of the DYFS report have not been made public.

Schwab did not return several phone calls for comment. His attorney, Alan Zegas, expressed astonishment that his client had been charged.

"He is going to enter a plea of not guilty … and he will vigorously fight the charges," Zegas said on Friday.

Schools Superintendent Louis Ripatrazone refused to comment, citing confidentiality laws. The union representing Roxbury’s teachers also declined to discuss the indictment.

But Hill, a retired teacher, said he was troubled that Schwab will end up in court as a result of the incident.

"My understanding of the law is that you are allowed to use physical force if one child is about to injure another," Hill said.

"I’ve been in education for 34 years, and I’ve never heard of a teacher being indicted by a grand jury for trying to break up a fight."

Rob Jennings can be reached at rjenning@morristo.gannett.com or (973) 989-0652. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.