Police Charge Teacher With Felony After Watching Security Footage Of Him Allegedly Hitting Student In Face

A teacher who was given early retirement for allegedly slapping a student in the face has been charged with a felony following police investigation, according to local officials.

High school teacher Michael Hosinski, 61, was arrested and preliminarily charged with battery Thursday after he was granted early retirement by the Baugo Community School Board in Elkhart, Indiana, according to a police report and local Indiana outlet WNDU.

On Feb. 25, Hosinski ran down a school hallway chasing after a student, grabbed the student’s backpack, pointed his finger at and then hit the student in the face, knocking his head into a wall, according to WNDU.

The confrontation related the student wearing a hooded sweatshirt on school grounds, a garment only permitted on certain days, CNN reported.

In 2020, Hosinski was named “Teacher of the Year,” according to a tweet. He had planned to retire as a World Civilization and Sociology teacher for Jimtown High School in June, according to minutes from a December 2021 school board meeting.

The student sustained “visible injuries” as a result of the altercation, Superintendent Byron Sanders said in a letter to families on Sunday, CNN reported.