Teacher in bus incident resigns post

Patterson High teacher and coach Brandon Harden resigned today as an employee of St. Mary Parish schools.

St. Mary Superintendent Leonard Armato only confirmed Harden’s resignation was effective immediately and stated it was received today. He did not comment beyond that.

On Tuesday, The Daily Review reported Harden was on suspension by the school board pending an investigation into what Harden called “consensual horseplay” with a basketball player on a school bus Saturday on the way back to Patterson from a game in Brusly.

On the trip back to Patterson after Saturday’s game, a player threw some pennies and a small rock in Harden’s direction, Dajon Richard said. Harden mistakenly believed Richard was responsible.

Another player confessed to throwing the objects, said Richard’s father, Tarrike Phillips.

Richard said that later, still on the trip home, Harden told him he was coming back to his seat.

Richard said Harden told him: “‘Dajon, you’re about to make me come back there.’ And when he came back there, I ducked down, and he pulled me up and started choking me.”

Richard said Harden choked him more than once. And Richard’s head hit the floor in the aisle at one point, the student said.

“When he said he was coming back there, at first I was joking and leaned down in the seat,” Richard said. “Then he pulled me. And I pushed him off me, then he got me again.

“I got serious when he dumped me over, flipped me over the seat and I hit my head on the ground.”

It occurred between the seats.

“He jumped on me and he choked me …,” Richard said. “I was like, ‘Stop choking me because I can’t breathe.’ Then he tried to pick me up.

“So he started leaning back and I couldn’t breathe after that. So I started tapping out, telling him to stop. Then he let me go and got me again. I said, ‘I can’t breathe.’”

“Tapping out” is a signal of surrender.

“I pulled him off me because it was hurting,” Richard said. “He said, ‘You better tap out, you better tap out or I’m not going to let you go.’ So, I was tapping out. And he let me go but he grabbed me again.”

Some students recorded the incident on their phones. Richard said Harden told students on the bus after the incident to delete the video. And Richard replied “No, don’t delete it.”

One of the students put one of the videos on Snapchat.

Also, a camera aboard the bus captured the incident, said Richard’s mother, Sherneeka Richard-Phillips. Richard’s family viewed the bus video at St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office Monday in Morgan City.