Enraged Special Ed Teacher Arrested After Allegedly Choking a 5-Year-Old Student

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Anyone who’s ever spent any significant time around children will tell you that they can be challenging. Children with special needs require even more patience and emotional regulation as you care for them. You would think that the professionals responsible for their care could meet these standards.

But that’s not always the case. One teacher in Manhattan is facing assault charges after he allegedly strangled a 5-year-old student.

'I can't breathe,' the boy cried out.

Anthony Wicks, a special education teacher at PS 153 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Elementary School in Manhattan, appeared in front of a judge earlier this week, the New York Post reported. He was accused of grabbing the boy’s neck with both of his hands and dragging the child across the classroom while he was in a headlock.

In the middle of the attack, the frightened child reportedly attempted to appeal to his teacher crying out, “I can’t breathe.”

The boy was later taken to the hospital.

The violent incident began after the child refused to go to the time-out corner, CBS New York reported. The boy’s brother shared what he had learned of the incident.

“He was making a fuss about going in the time-out … and then the teacher choked him.” There was another teacher in the room at the time. “That teacher [Wicks] wasn’t the one who was even talking to him,” the brother explained. “What other people have told me is that when he was getting choked, he was crying and then wouldn’t calm down.”

The child’s father said the incident was a “very scary moment" for his young son. “He said that his teacher’s hands were tight around his neck and that he said that he would be good and that he asked the teacher to let go,” he told CBS. The child was later taken to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital.

The Department of Education released a statement after the altercation.

A spokesperson from the Department of Education confirmed that Wicks was immediately removed from the school after the incident. Wicks taught preschool for three years before he joined the DOE. “Pending the outcome of the arrest and if convicted, we will pursue their termination. There is nothing more important than the safety and well-being of our students,” the DOE added. 

The judge ordered Wicks have no contact with the boy.

At his arraignment, Wicks was granted a supervised release. The judge also ordered that he not have contact with the child. When asked if he understood, Wicks said, “Yes, of course.”

He is facing charges of second-degree assault and acting in a manner injurious to a child. When the New York Post reached out to him for comment, he hung up on them. His next court date is set for October 23.