A Northern California physical education teacher is in the hot seat after a student captured video footage of him dragging a 14-year-old girl across a pool deck. 

The incident happened in August and Denny Patterson is now being charged with corporal injury to a child. 

The story goes that the unnamed student planned to attend a special event that night and had her hair done in the morning.  She didn’t want to ruin her hairstyle by swimming during gym class and refused to jump into the water. 

Patterson was adamant that the student needed to participate and dragged her across the tile deck before forcing her into the water.  Wearing only swim shorts and a bikini top, the girl kicks and screams while being pulled toward the pool and screams that her top is falling off.  Another students hits the teacher with a kick board and another throws water. 

According to ABC 6: “Paterson, who has worked in the Stockton school district for more than 10 years, was immediately placed on paid leave for one month.  When word came that he was facing a misdemeanor, the school was forced to put Paterson on paid leave again.” 

The girl’s family has hired Stockton lawyer Gilbert Somera who says the student should have been punished academically rather than physically, according to ABC 6.