Teacher accused of choking student over untucked shirt

The alleged attack between student Julian Butler and teacher Keith Evans happened in November 2018 at DeKalb Alternative School.

Butler's mother, Sharon Hepburn, showed WSB-TV's Michael Seiden photos of her son with bruises on his neck.

Butler said it all started when Evans told him to tuck in his shirt. “He was like, ‘Just tuck your shirt in.' ... The way it was tucked in – it wasn’t the way he wanted it to be.”

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"I was hurt. It actually made me cry because that's not what I send my son to school for," Hepburn said. “I get to the school and find out that one of his teachers had grabbed around his neck, choked him and slammed his head on the desk.”

Butler was charged with simple battery in November following the incident, but three months later, the teacher is now facing the same offense. Hepburn said she had to show pictures to a judge to get charges against Evans.

Evans' attorney is firing back, claiming his client did not cause the injuries.

“My client was attacked first and that’s the part of this entire scenario that’s so confusing, so sad,” attorney Yari D. Lawson said. “The mother's upset her kid was charged with simple battery for attacking my client, so now she’s trying to get back at my client."

“Whether he ran his mouth or not, that still don’t give the teacher the right to grab him around the neck,” Hepburn said.

The district emailed WSB-TV a statement confirming they removed Evans from the classroom. He's now on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation.