Tony Lamonica imagined celebrating his retirement with balloons, cake and colleagues. But after 32-years as a proud high school teacher, he ended his career on a hospital stretcher after an alleged, violent attack by a student.
Lamonica, 59, says this past April, he was protecting a female student from a 17-year-old male student at a high school in Ottawa, when suddenly the male threw him across his office desk. Lamonica says he landed on the floor shattering his hip and tearing his rotator cuff.
"I tried to get up, but I was in so much pain," said Lamonica. "When I looked up the student had actually picked up an upholstered chair — a very heavy one. He had lifted it over his head."
"I felt defenceless. He was about to throw it at me … I was prepared to say 'OK, this is it.'"
Lamonica was hospitalized, bedridden for weeks after the incident, and he never returned to the classroom. Police charged the teenage student with four counts of assault including aggravated assault and assault with a weapon.
The retired teacher is now raising questions about whether the school system is equipped to handle students with behavioural issues while keeping teachers safe.
"I wasn't kept safe," said Lamonica.
Lamonica's union, the Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association, says students acting violently towards teachers is a growing problem across Canada and is pushing for change.
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'I wasn't kept safe': Injured Ottawa teacher recounts violent attack - Ottawa - CBC News
Lamonica, 59, says this past April, he was protecting a female student from a 17-year-old male student at a high school in Ottawa, when suddenly the male threw him across his office desk. Lamonica says he landed on the floor shattering his hip and tearing his rotator cuff.
"I tried to get up, but I was in so much pain," said Lamonica. "When I looked up the student had actually picked up an upholstered chair — a very heavy one. He had lifted it over his head."
"I felt defenceless. He was about to throw it at me … I was prepared to say 'OK, this is it.'"
Lamonica was hospitalized, bedridden for weeks after the incident, and he never returned to the classroom. Police charged the teenage student with four counts of assault including aggravated assault and assault with a weapon.
The retired teacher is now raising questions about whether the school system is equipped to handle students with behavioural issues while keeping teachers safe.
"I wasn't kept safe," said Lamonica.
Lamonica's union, the Ontario English Catholic Teachers' Association, says students acting violently towards teachers is a growing problem across Canada and is pushing for change.
more
'I wasn't kept safe': Injured Ottawa teacher recounts violent attack - Ottawa - CBC News