Video shows an employee of Batavia High School holding a student by the neck

Batavia, Illinois. (CBS) — A disturbing video shows a school employee holding a student from the western suburbs of Batavia by the neck.

Maribel Gonzalez of CBS 2 said the incident took place last Friday in the cafeteria of Batavia High School and is now being handled by the police.

Neither the school district nor the Batavia Police Department release any footage of the incident, but CBS 2 received a short clip that was recorded by a student.

Both agencies said they were investigating what led to the fight.

It was a chaotic scene on Friday. The video shows a female student fighting with an adult man who the school district claims is an employee of the school.

The man holding the walkie-talkie appears to pin the student to the table and then forcibly wraps his arm around her neck while the student punches him.

There is no sound on the video, but the employee appears to be trying to call someone on the walkie-talkie.


The video shows a student being held back by Batavia High School staff.

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By showing the video, we are protecting the identity of both student and employee because the school district and Batavia police are investigating the matter and it is not clear what led to this.

Batavia Public School District 101 public relations manager Holly Deichman released the following statement:

“On Friday in the cafeteria of Batavia High School, school staff responded to an incident of assault and battery of students. The County is aware of a video circulating on social media showing a select part of the incident. We work closely with all parties involved.

“The county cannot release any additional information, including the full video, to maintain confidentiality. At this time, our priorities are to support those affected, complete the investigation into the incident, and determine the appropriate response based on the results of the investigation.”

The county did not comment on the position or current status of the employee.

The Batavia police also told us that they are studying surveillance video and questioning those involved in the incident, as well as witnesses.

Late Tuesday evening, it was unclear if anyone was hurt during the incident.

As of Tuesday afternoon, no charges had been filed.