Teacher Knocked Out In High School Riot Caught on Camera: Cops

A caught-on-camera brawl involving dozens of students at a Philadelphia-area high school has resulted in the arrests of six teens, including one who police say knocked a teacher trying break things up out cold.

The melee broke out Oct. 8 in a hallway outside the Upper Darby High School cafeteria.

Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said the incident started due to bad blood between a couple of groups at the nearly 4,000-student school. Anywhere from 60 to 70 students were involved in the brawl but only a handful were arrested.

"We are not going to tolerate this type of behavior," Chitwood said.

The riot, which was caught on video, left a 30-year-old male teacher who tried to intervene with a concussion and torn ligaments in his left leg, according to police.

"The teacher is knocked down, jumped on," Chitwood said.

The only suspect being identified is 18-year-old Jermaine Richardson. Chitwood said Richardson "cold-cocked" the teacher.

"We are not going to tolerate this type of behavior," Chitwood said.

The other five suspects are minors, a 14 year old, two 16 year olds and two 17 year olds, and face juvenile court charges, according to police.

None of the kids involved in the fight suffered major injuries.

Chitwood said he has been in communication with school officials since video surfaced following the brawl.

On Thursday afternoon, the school district released a statement that said they had conducted their own internal investigation and that they couldn't reveal any information about the students or teacher involved.

Chitwood said he had planned on taking the kids out of the school in handcuffs but that the kids were instead arrested at their homes Wednesday night since they had already been suspended.

All six suspects were arraigned Thursday morning on simple assault, reckless endangerment, harassment and conspiracy charges in Upper Darby and the minors were released back to their parents.

Richardson also faces an aggravated assault charge and was sent to county jail because he was unable to post 10 percent of $30,000 bail, according to court records.

Chitwood said he hopes this incident doesn't serve as an indictment on UDHS students as a whole.

"There are a lot of good students but you get a handful of knuckleheads that create a climate of unsafe environment," Chitwood said.

Chitwood said police along with school officials and school security are going to continue a "zero tolerance" policy for any disturbances.

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