HISD teacher accused of choking student, stomping on his foot

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A Houston ISD middle school teacher is facing a felony charge after he allegedly pushed, choked and threw a student to the ground during class.

Errick Waters is charged with injury to a child in connection with the April 22 incident at Edison Middle School.

According to charging documents, Waters instructed students to begin working on their class assignment as soon as they finished their breakfast. One student got up to throw his trash, and Waters ordered him to sit down at another desk and begin his work. The student, who has difficulty speaking English, didn't immediately follow directions, so Waters allegedly grabbed the student by the shoulders and squeezed him.

The student moved away from Waters, but according to the probable cause document, Waters got only more physical. He allegedly grabbed the student by his shirt collar and choked him. When the student pushed Waters away, Waters threw him to the floor and pinned him down with his knees.

Other students in the classroom tried to notify the front office of the fight, but when they activated the emergency call button, Waters told the front office that everything was fine.

Waters, with his fists clinched, then told the student, "You're lucky I didn't rip up your face!" and walked away, according to the probable cause document. The student, angry about what just happened, got up and punched a desk. Waters allegedly walked back to the student, pushed him back to the ground and ordered him to clean up the room.

As the student finished cleaning up, Waters allegedly stomped on the student's foot and said, "This is your fault."

At that point, the student went to the principal's office and complained.

Waters' charging document states the student had two deep red marks on his neck and a bruise on his left knee. Several other students in the classroom also provided written statements corroborating what happened.