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The City Council held hearings on school safety Wednesday, just a day after a student and a principal were arrested following an incident at a Manhattan high school.
“This was a normal school day. He was here. He was back at work doing his job and everyone was glad he was back,” said East Side Community High School teacher Ben Wides.
Police say Tuesday's incident started when 17-year-old Isamar Gonzales tried to get into the the high school before it opened Tuesday morning. Police say Gonzales – a student at the school – punched a school safety agent in the eye and was arrested.
When two safety agents told her to come back later, police say she started throwing punches, injuring the agents. As they arrested her, police say Principal Mark Federman tried to stop the agents from taking her out the front door to spare her the embarrassment.
School safety agents then arrested Federman for interfering and slapped him with a desk appearance ticket.
Gonzales is charged with assault, while Federman is charged with obstructing governmental administration and resisting arrest.
The agents, who were at the City Hall press conference Wednesday, didn’t say anything because of the ongoing investigation, but the head of their union spoke out in their support.
“The principal decided that he wanted the person to be let out the back door. When that request was denied and they were trying to get the person out, the principal blocked the door,” said Teamsters Local 237 President Greg Floyd.
But the head of the principals' union says the arrest wasn't necessary.
“I think there might have been other ways to handle it,” said Council of School Supervisors and Administrators president Ernest Logan. “I think when you go to the point of having an arrest that means it’s a last resort.”
Meanwhile, the City Council took a closer look at school safety with a previously scheduled hearing.
Councilman Robert Jackson says what happened Tuesday proves there's a problem with the system. He said there needs to be more transparency.
“My initial comment was, ‘this is a mess.’ A mess that, in my opinion, we should not be in,” said Jackson.
Some at the hearing say it's not clear who's in charge of school safety. Education and police officials say when something goes wrong, it's the principal, unless a crime is committed.
“The principal is the CEO of that facility when it comes to matters of education and even discipline, but when it comes to crime and safety, that’s the NYPD’s call,” said Assistant NYPD Chief James Secreto.
But in this unusual case, the principal was treated like a criminal, sparking anger and an investigation that's still ongoing.
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