MPS teacher on leave during investigation into student's injury

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- A Milwaukee Public Schools employee is on leave after an incident involving a student. It happened at the 53rd Street school on Friday.

Both police and the student's parents were called to the school. The boy's mother says this employee used unnecessary force.

Grace Washington says she received a call from the school's principal around lunchtime on Friday and heard her son crying in the background.

"I can hear my son hollering and screaming 'Momma, Momma please,'" said Washington.

She rushed to the 53rd Street school on Friday to find her son injured.

"He looked like he was battered." Washington said he had a busted lip and blood dripping down his jacket. She took her son to the hospital right away where they found he had a right-hand sprain and left wrist sprain.

Milwaukee Public Schools tell CBS 58:

"MPS is investigating a minor student injury at Fifty-Third Street School that happened on Friday. While a staff member attempted to manage a disruptive student in the school office, the student suffered a minor injury. The Milwaukee Police Department and the student’s parents were called to the school.

The staff member involved has been placed on leave pending a final resolution to the matter. Because the situation involves an ongoing personnel matter, we cannot comment further."

The 6th grader explained what he says the much larger assistant principal did to him.

"He kind of threw me into the chair. That's when I tried to get up and leave. That's when he pushed me to the table and tried to slam my head against the table and that's when I started bleeding in my mouth," he said. "I crawled under the table and he was pulling on my two legs to try to get me out from underneath the table."

Milwaukee Police were called and report:

"The investigation revealed that the child was suffering from a crisis at which time, a member of the staff placed him in a trained Crisis Prevention Institute restraint. The child then struck his mouth against a table as he tried to break free."

Police report the child tried to break free several times.

Washington says her son has special behavioral needs, but there's no excuse for this teacher to injure her son to the extent he did.

"It was just really heartbreaking. I was in tears cause I'm like this is like my baby," said Washington. "He went under the table to get to safety. You should let him cool off so it wouldn't blow up."