Posted on December 22, 2015

After Student Attack, St. Paul Teacher Plans to Sue School District

CBS Minnesota, December 21, 2015

The teacher who was attacked by a student earlier in December is planning on suing St. Paul Public Schools, saying the district has failed to keep teachers safe.

The law firm Villaume & Shiek, P.A. announced Monday that they have been retained by John Ekblad, a St. Paul teacher, to “commence civil litigation against the St. Paul Public Schools for negligence in failing to provide him with a workplace free of assaultive behavior and violence in general.”

On Friday, Dec. 4, a 16-year-old St. Paul student allegedly body slammed and choked Ekblad, his teacher at Center High School.

Fon’Tae O’Bannon is accused of slamming Ekblad into a cafeteria table and chair when Ekblad tried intervening in a fight. The student then choked him until he was unconscious. O’Bannon was charged with third-degree assault.

Ekblad suffered brain damage and a concussion in the incident and needed hospitalization.

John Ekblad

John Ekblad

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