Elementary school teacher used 'chokehold' on student until they passed out: police

A math coach at a Connecticut elementary school has resigned after she put three fifth graders into martial arts chokeholds and even caused one of them to pass out, according to a report.

The Hour reports that 50-year-old Stefanie Sanabria has stepped down from her position at the Brookside Elementary School in Norwalk, Connecticut after police arrested her after she demonstrated a chokehold maneuver on three students that caused one of them to lose consciousness.

The student who passed out was treated by a school nurse and did not suffer permanent injury.

The teacher has since been hit with charges of second-degree strangulation, first-degree reckless endangerment, and risk of injury to a minor, according to Norwalk Police.

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The incident with the student occurred last month, although Sanabria was only arrested and charged for it on Friday. Her bond has been set at $20,000 and she is due to appear in court this coming Friday.

Local news station WTNH spoke with James Santalucia, an instructor at the nearby Calasanz Martial Arts & Fitness System, who faulted Sanabria for apparently lacking basic commonsense when demonstrating the martial arts maneuvers."

“You must know what you’re doing to know when to stop," he said. "You have to have restraint. And if you’re just anybody on the street and you don’t have that training, a lot of people don’t have that restraint. That’s why people get hurt.”