Charges against a former Dallas ISD employee who was accused of assaulting a student have been dismissed, court filings show.
Former coach Marcel Brooks was shown in a viral Instagram video from April hitting a person identified in the post as a student at least twice, knocking the glasses off the student’s face.
The incident occurred at Justin F. Kimball High School in west Oak Cliff. Brooks was arrested and faced a misdemeanor assault charge. He was released on a $1,500 bond.
Brooks was also placed on administrative leave following the incident and fired the following week according to his attorney, Dan Wyde.
Breaking News
On Monday, the Dallas County district attorney’s office filed a motion to dismiss the charge, saying it was unable to proceed with the case after a review of the evidence. A judge granted the dismissal the same day.
Wyde said Brooks is a graduate of Kimball and had been volunteering there for several years as a football and wrestling coach when the district hired him as a hall monitor. (The district clarified his title was “school monitor.”)
Brooks told WFAA-TV the group of students in the video were not in class when they were supposed to be. He said he approached them about this and a student made physical contact with him first, which led Brooks to defend himself.
“I kinda moved my head so he caught me in the face and neck area and shoved me into some tables that was right there,” Brooks told WFAA.
In a statement from Brooks provided by his attorney, Brooks said dealing with the incident has been “a long battle.”
“I am blessed I can close this chapter and move forward with my life,” he said.
Wyde also said the district needs to review its policies on how employees are treated in dealing with similar situations.
“It’s shameful that employees don’t have the right to self-defense when attacked by a student,” Wyde said.
A Dallas ISD spokesperson declined to comment.
At the time of the incident, Dallas ISD released a statement that said it was “deeply disturbed” by the incident.
“We have taken swift action and will hold all parties involved in this serious offense responsible, to the fullest extent of the law,” the district’s statement said.