Maywood, CA — Marston Riley, a 64-year old Black teacher who was arrested on charges of child abuse after he punched a student who was yelling racial slurs at him, has had the charges against him dropped a year after the incident.
The incident happened last year when Riley asked a 14-year old white boy to leave the classroom at Maywood Academy High School because he was not wearing the proper uniform. The 14-year old student then went to Riley and began yelling racial slurs and calling him the n-word.
In a cellphone video captured by other students, Riley can be seen calm despite the disrespect of the student, who even threw a basketball at him. The student continued taunting him until he decided to punch the student in the face. School staff members had to pull them away.
Riley was initially arrested and charged with child abuse and causing great bodily injury to a child. He was also forced to retire. But many of his colleagues, as well as the students and their parents, came to his defense.
A GoFundMe campaign titled For Mr. Riley (Teachers Deserve Respect) has been set up to donate for his bail and lawyer expenses. Even after he was released, he received outpouring support and raised $191,795.
Most recently, the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office decided to drop charges against him citing the circumstances of the incident, the teacher’s age, and that the defendant did not have a criminal record. He also completed a 10-week anger management course.