LOUISVILLE, Colo. — A special education teacher at a school in Louisville has been placed on leave after an incident with a student that led to criminal charges.
Principal Robin Techmanski said in the message that Monarch PK-8 teacher Matt Hill, 43, faces a misdemeanor charge of child abuse-knowingly/recklessly causes injury other than SBI (serious bodily injury).
According to an arrest affidavit from the Louisville Police Department, a staff member learned of the incident that occurred in Hill's classroom on April 8. That staff member said she found a note on her door from the school's speech therapist alleging that Hill might have harmed a student in the classroom.
The note indicated that the therapist went into the classroom around noon and observed a student crying and sitting with an ice pack on their hand, the affidavit says. The student has a speech disability and when the therapist asked what happened the child only said, "Mr. Matt hurt hand chair," according to the document.
The therapist reported that she looked toward a paraprofessional who was also in the room and that person shook their head "yes," the affidavit says. On the same day, according to the document, Hill grabbed another child's arm and held it at their side until the child said "ow." The document indicates Hill was attempting to de-escalate a situation between two students and apologized and let go as soon as the child said "ow."
Investigators later interviewed a staff member who witnessed the incident. She reported that the child was sitting in a "cube" chair that was not assigned to him and said Hill asked the child to move. She said Hill appeared to become "frustrated" and then picked up the chair the child was sitting in and "tossed" him out of it. She explained, according to the affidavit, that Hill lifted one side of the chair quickly which caused the child to fall to the ground.
She believed the child hurt their hand either by landing on it when they fell or by the chair falling onto it. Investigators later observed a red mark on the child's hand and said the vein in that hand appeared slightly more bulged than the other hand.
When investigators spoke with Hill about the incident, he said two students were fighting over the chair and he was trying to move the child by tipping the chair, the affidavit says. He said the chair fell and pinched a child's finger. When they told the witness what Hill said, she disputed that.
She said she did not witness any argument between two students and said no other kids were nearby when Hill "tossed" the child from the chair. She said there was "no reasonable justification" for the level of force used, the affidavit says.
The school immediately took action and notified police after learning about the incident, Techmanski said. Hill was placed on paid administrative leave.
"We are sharing this information with our school community today because safety and transparency are top priorities for our school and the Boulder Valley School District," the message says.
According to the arrest affidavit, a "similar" report involving Hill and a different student was made in March 2023 but the document notes the case had an "unfounded disposition." A spokesperson for the school district confirmed that Hill was placed on leave on March 8, 2023, and was allowed to return to work on April 5, 2023, after police investigated and found "no criminal wrongdoing."
Anyone who has information they would like to share with investigators is asked to reach Louisville Police Officer Jewel Danielson at jdanielson@louisvilleco.gov.
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