California teacher fired for body-slamming student who called him the N-word

A substitute teacher in California was fired -- and could be charged -- after a video showed him slamming a student to the ground for calling him a racial slur.

The teacher, who is Black, can be seen in the video daring the Richmond High School student to call him the N-word again, and the student lightly shoves the man -- who then grabs the much smaller teen, slams him to the ground and then drives him out of the classroom, reported KGO-TV.

"There is no justifying it," said student Rogelio Casillas. "I just think he could have taken better precautions like calling the principal or some other authority. It was a bad move, I'll say that."

However, Casillas said he had previously considered the teacher to be a "pretty cool guy," and other students agreed.

"He was a normal teacher," said student Fatima Ramos. "He was just there if we needed him."

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The school's Black Student Union held a gathering afterward asking other students to denounce the use of any racial slurs and calling on administrators to improve safety.

The West Contra Costa School District fired the teacher, whose name was not released, and said the student -- whose race wasn't clear in the video because he was wearing a coronavirus mask -- was not seriously injured.

"The student is safe with their family," the district said in a statement, "and our school and district are fully investigating the incident."

Richmond police are also investigating, and the teacher may face potential charges in the incident.

Also investigating the incident is Richmond police. So far, it's not clear if charges will be filed against the teacher.

"We will finish our investigation, conduct our interviews and we will forward the report to the district attorney and they will review the case and make an ultimate filling decision as far as whether this amounts to a felony crime or a misdemeanor crime, and what charges shall be filed if any," said Sgt. Donald Patchin.