Teacher fired, arrested for hitting student with broomstick
By Ari Hait
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FORT PIERCE, Florida (WPBF) -- A Treasure Coast teacher was fired and arrested after a video surfaced showing her hitting a student with a metal stick.
Cyntyche Darling-Lundy is charged with child abuse.
A parent, Joselyn Destine, said the incident happened early last week at Forest Grove Middle School in Fort Pierce. And she said the boy being hit in the video is her son, 12-year-old Kevin Searles, Jr.
“I was enraged,” Destine said. “I was enraged.”
She said her son told her it started when the teacher used a desk to pin him near the wall.
“He’s telling her, ‘No, no, no,’” Destine said. “It’s clear as day. ‘I want out!’”
In the video, you can hear Searles telling Darling-Lundy, “I want to get out.”
Darling-Lundy responds by saying, “You like it right there.”
The boy then said, “No, I don’t!”
Ten seconds later, Darling-Lundy hits Searles with the metal stick. The boy screams and falls to the ground.
Searles’ friend, 12-year-old Seth McClanahan, recorded the incident on his phone.
“I asked him why he did that,” said McClanahan’s mother, Menda Potter. “And he said, ‘To protect my friend. I don’t want this teacher hurting nobody else.’”
WPBF 25 News reached out to St. Lucie Public Schools and asked about this specific incident.
A spokesperson responded with a statement:
“The alleged behavior is intolerable and reprehensible. As a result of the initial investigation, the teacher has been terminated. This behavior represents a total disregard for SLPS's mission to provide a safe and caring teaching and learning environment and such behavior is not tolerated.”
Shortly after being fired, Darling-Lundy was arrested.
Both Destine and Potter said they were pleased by both developments and said they hoped Darling-Lundy never steps foot in a classroom again.
“Your job is not to beat him,” Destine said. “You beat my baby.”
“We send our kids to school to be safe,” Potter said. “We’re at work. We’re out doing things. They’re supposed to be safe, not getting hit at school and being chased around a classroom by a teacher.”
WPBF 25 News made multiple attempts to contact Darling-Lundy, but she did not respond.
According to the police report, Darling-Lundy also refused to speak to investigators.
The report, though, said she told school officials she and Searles were just being playful.
Darling-Lundy is currently out on bond.
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