Coweta County

Ga. high school parapro arrested for pushing special needs student multiple times, police say

COWETA COUNTY, Ga. — A paraprofessional at Newnan High School has been charged with battery for reportedly pushing a special needs student more than once. The incident was reportedly caught on camera.

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According to Newnan police, an officer was helping another staff member fix the camera system’s blind spot last month when he noticed a disturbing encounter.

As the officer searched for a camera angle on the blind spot he was looking for, the officer saw a staff member, identified as Karen Gresham, appear to push a student from behind.

The officer then rewound the video and started it from the time the student and Gresham walked out of the classroom. The officer stated that while the student was walking out, Gresham looked over her shoulder at the student, and pushed her from behind with both hands. This allegedly caused the student to lose her balance and stumble forward.

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The police report stated that as the student and Gresham continued to walk down the hallway, the student stopped and Gresham pushed the student again — this time in the back with her right hand, which caused the student to trip forward.

The student began to walk slowly down the hall and Gresham reportedly pushed the student a third time with both hands, which caused the student her to lose her balance again and fall forward. The student and Gresham then went into the restroom and appeared to be out of the camera’s view.

An internal investigation was launched and school staff interviewed Gresham.

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Authorities said that when officers asked Gresham why she had pushed the student, she told police that she did so “to help her walk down the hall, and that was how she was trained at the beginning of the year.” She also told police she might have used too much force but she had been “working on that.”

When officers asked Gresham if they would see more incidents involving her pushing students if they were to review more camera footage, she told officers, “I don’t think so,” the report stated.

Once the interview was over, Gresham was escorted off campus.

A school spokesperson stated that Gresham is no longer an employee with the school district. She worked at Newnan High’s ninth grade campus, which is currently housed on-site at the Central Educational Center.

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