HOUSTON – A special education teacher at IDEA Hardy, a charter school in Houston, has landed himself in some trouble after breaking a student’s arm, according to charging documents.
George Jimerson has been charged with injury to a child - serious bodily injury. A warrant has since been issued for his arrest.
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On Oct. 7, 2022, a Houston police officer was dispatched to IDEA Hardy, located at 1930 Little York Road, in response to an incident that occurred in a special education classroom the day before.
According to court documents, the officer was told that Jimerson broke a 10-year-old student’s arm while using the CPI hold restraint method, a position used to manage individuals who have become dangerous to themselves or others. Documents allege the 10-year-old was trying to grab a plastic bag and attempting to kick another student before the teacher intervened.
Surveillance video from the classroom allegedly shows Jimerson using “excessive force” on the student. The officer said the video showed the teacher pushing the 10-year-old into a wall and then placing his right hand on the child’s left wrist and his left hand on the child’s right bicep before “aggressively pulling the child up in the air and rotating the child’s arm away from his body in an unnatural motion and then slamming his body to the ground.” Immediately after the child hit the ground, the officer said a loud pop could be heard and the teacher is seen walking away, leaving the child unattended.
Court documents say the video also appeared to show the child in pain while lying on the classroom carpet with his left arm motionless and kicking both of his legs up in the air while using his right arm to get the teacher’s attention and scream for help.
When the officer interviewed Jimmerson on Nov. 9, more than a month after the incident, the teacher said he is Crisis Prevention Intervention (CPI) trained, and that is the method he used to restrain the 10-year-old to “stop him from hurting him and other children in the classroom.”
The teacher then, according to court documents, demonstrated the method he used to officers and said he “stopped the student from grabbing an item he could use to hurt other children by grabbing his right arm and placing his hand on his back and then guiding him down to the ground slowly.”
The teacher alleged when he heard a “pop,” he realized he broke the child’s arm.
When officers showed Jimerson the video of him pushing the student into the wall and slamming him to the ground, which did not match his account of what happened, the teacher allegedly said he could not explain why he broke the child’s arm over a plastic bag and does not know what was going through his mind at the time of the incident.
The child, who was transported to the emergency room after the incident, sustained a broken humorous bone, which was broken in several places.
According to court documents, the doctor treating the child said the fracture would have needed surgery, but due to the child’s age and growth, the bone should heal on its own.
Court documents also show that Jimerson has previously been in trouble. Back in 2001, he was charged with criminal trespass, in 1990 he was charged with possession of marijuana and in 1987 he was charged with a DWI.
IDEA Public Schools released the following statement:
“Since the incident, IDEA has taken swift action cooperating with law enforcement, child protective services, and state agencies as appropriate. All individuals who were involved in the incident are no longer with IDEA. IDEA remains committed to serving our students and families with the highest standard of safety and service.”
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