PALM COAST, Fla. – A Flagler County middle school teacher charged with battery after a video showed him forcefully throwing a student out of his classroom earlier this year has been fired, according to the school officials.
Buddy Taylor Middle School teacher Jeffrey Paffumi, 47, physically removed a 14-year-old boy from the classroom in January, lifting him out of his chair and off his feet, a video captured by another student shows.
Paffumi, who was fired Feb. 18, is appealing the termination, according to school officials.
The Sheriff’s Office began investigating the incident after the boy’s parents learned of the incident and contacted the school.
The student told deputies he was playing music on his computer and Paffumi muted it. When the student unmuted the computer, Paffumi grabbed the computer and held it over the student’s head, according to the arrest report. In response, the student said he told the teacher “to put his (expletive) down, cracka," according to the report.
At that point, Paffumi and the student had another verbal exchange before the 243-pound teacher grabbed the teen, turned him around and put him in a “choke hold,” according to the report.
The video released by the Sheriff’s Office shows Paffumi tell the student, “Show me how tough you are. You want to call me a cracker?" as he carried him out of the classroom and shoved him.
The video released by the Sheriff’s Office does not show what led to the student being physically removed from the classroom.
The student said he was not injured.
Paffumi was charged with simple battery.
Flagler County Superintendent James Tager said Paffumi was placed on leave pending the investigation.
“The actions of this teacher are not consistent with how we expect our educators to act and behave and it will not be tolerated," said Jason Wheeler, of Flagler County Schools. “We immediately removed Mr. Paffumi from the classroom following the incident and placed him on leave pending an investigation."
Paffumi has a previous history with the Sheriff’s Office, records show. He was arrested in 2012 for criminal mischief and again in 2012, for battery, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
According to school officials, Paffumi has been employed with Flagler Schools since August 2005 and has held his current position at Buddy Taylor Middle School since August 2018.