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Nov 19, 2008 10:51 pm US/Eastern
Union Claims Teacher Cleared In Dillard Case
I-Team data shows school violence rising
FORT LAUDERDALE (CBS4) ―
CBS4 News is learning new details in the Dillard High School shooting; we've learned the Dillard High School teacher who was allegedly warned about a gun on campus may be cleared.
Ft. Lauderdale police say 15-year-old Teah Wimberly used the gun to shoot and kill 15-year-old Amanda Collette. The Broward Teacher's Union tells
CBS's Peter D'Oench the teacher was never warned about the gun.
"The teacher had absolutely no prior knowledge that this student had a gun nor that this incident was going to occur," Broward Teacher's Union field representative Dane Ramson says.
Broward School District investigators are trying to determine if a student warned that teacher. The unnamed teacher is on administrative leave with pay while the investigation moves forward.
The student, however, told
CBS4's Carey Codd he did inform a teacher.
Here is part of their exchange:
REPORTER: So you told the teacher that you saw Teah with the gun?
STUDENT: Uh-huh.
REPORTER: And this was before the shooting?
STUDENT: Yes.
REPORTER: And the teacher didn't do anything?
STUDENT: Nothing.
REPORTER: Isn't that kind of strange?
STUDENT: Yeah.
The Broward School District says this case remains under investigation.
However the Broward Teacher's Union believes the investigation is complete and the teacher will be cleared of wrongdoing. The union believes the student did not tell the truth.
"What this student chose to do by misrepresenting and making a false statement against a teacher is illegal in the state of Florida," Ramson said.
School district spokeswoman Nadine Drew says no decision has been made to allow the teacher to return to class since the police investigation is still ongoing. Ramson disputed that claim. She said the investigation has wrapped and the teacher's return to the classroom is imminent.
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