CHAPEL HILL, Texas — Winona ISD Board President Randy Hawkins was arrested in August for accusations of closing a Chapel Hill ISD student's arm in a classroom door, police documents show.
Hawkins, 60, of Winona, was booked into the Gregg County Jail on an assault causing bodily injury on Aug. 22 and released the next day on a $500 bond. According to the Winona ISD website, he is currently the president of the board of trustees.
According to an arrest affidavit, the charge stems from when Hawkins was working as the wood shop teacher at Chapel Hill ISD in April. An employee said they found one of the students with his right arm stuck in the door and Hawkins was inside the classroom pulling on the door.
After other employees arrived, Hawkins opened the door and the student was allowed to get his backpack out of the room and he went to an office. A photo of the student's arm showed there was bodily injury, the affidavit said.
The student told a Chapel Hill ISD police officer that about five to 10 minutes into the class, Hawkins reprimanded the student for talking in class. Hawkins told the student to get out of the classroom, which the student did but he then asked to get his backpack, the affidavit stated.
According to the document, the student said Hawkins responded by saying something like "you gonna go through me or what" to him. The student tried to go through the door to get his backpack when Hawkins pulled the door shut, causing the student's arm to be caught in the door, the affidavit alleged.
The student said he felt pain when his arm was in the door. He called his brother to discuss filing charges against Hawkins and his brother said he should do so, the affidavit read.
One of the other school employees said she saw the door pull on the student's arm twice while Hawkins was yelling "Get out of my room, get your arm out of my door." She saw an abrasion above the student's elbow and said his skin was red, according to the document.
A student who the police officer interviewed said someone was drinking in class and Hawkins heard something from the student who was allegedly assaulted. Hawkins told the student to move to the front of the class. The other student saw Hawkins and the student go back and forth and later "fight" over the door, the affidavit read.
According to the affidavit, another student said Hawkins pushed the student a little to get him out of the classroom, and Hawkins "slammed" the door on the student's arm.
Another person in the class said the student involved in the incident was "smirking" as it happened. A different student said Hawkins was having a bad day and they thought Hawkins was not trying to injure the student, the affidavit explained.
CBS19 has reached out to Winona ISD and Chapel Hill ISD for comment, but we haven't heard back yet. Hawkins has not been indicted, and no court dates have been set, records show.