Local

Middle school assistant principal resigns after video shows him threatening, throwing student

SALISBURY, N.C. — A local middle school assistant principal has resigned after a video showed him taunting, threatening and throwing a student to the ground.

The Rowan-Salisbury School District said Dr. Christopher McNeil resigned from Knox Middle School after the video surfaced.

“You keep cracking your knuckles. You do what you do ‘cause when you hit me, I’m gonna beat the piss outta you. I’m telling you now. I’m telling you what I’m going to do. I’m going to put my hands on you,” McNeil can be heard saying in the video. “I’m gonna wait for you to get up and when you hit me, I’m gonna lose my job and they gonna call the police.”

>> In the video at the top of the page, you can see the footage of the incident involving McNeil and the student.

McNeil accepted the deputy principal job at the school in 2016. He had served 10 years with the Rowan-Salisbury School system at that time.

He resigned under investigation for the incident captured on a cellphone. He could be heard threatening a student and telling a teacher there was no need for a resource officer.

In the video, he can be heard telling the student: “You are already failing and you do nothing.”

The student cursed at McNeil and even got face-to-face with the man, who was in a wheelchair.

McNeil then escorted the student to the hall.

State law says “school personnel can restrain a student for cause including to obtain possession of a weapon, to maintain order or prevent or break up a fight, to ensure the safety of any student, school employee, and to escort a student safely.”

But the woman who shared the video said McNeil went too far and said if someone can’t handle a child, they should stay out of middle school.

An official with the school district told Channel 9 they are aware of the video and have launched an investigation. The official said the safety of all students and staff is the district’s highest priority.

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