Group calls for further investigation of student-teacher altercation

A local advocacy group and the family of a Champlin Park High School student shown on YouTube getting into a fight with another student and being restrained by a teacher are calling for further investigation by the school district.

One of two videos captured on a cell phone and published a week ago shows a fight break out in a classroom between 14-year-old Camaar Abdul-Kadir and another student. Both were wrestled to the ground by a teacher.

Camaar's family identified the teacher as technical workshop instructor Joe Hall, FOX 9 reported.

A second video shows Hall grab Camaar by the neck and put him in a head lock. Camaar makes a fake jab at the teacher and Hall continues to aggressively restrain him.

Anoka-Hennepin Schools says the district investigated the incident and determined the teacher acted in self-defense, "to protect the other students and protect himself," district spokeswoman Mary Olson said.

Camaar's mother told FOX 9 that the Hall went too far. She wants the school to admit her son was bullied by the other student involved and assaulted by Hall.

The Star Tribune reports the Somali student was arrested and suspended after the encounter.

The Minnesota Chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations is calling for "a swift, open and independent investigation into this matter."

FOX 9 and KSTP report the group has asked the U.S. Department of Education to step in.

"We are fairly confident in saying the situation was not based on race or ethnicity," Olson told MPR. "That's sometimes something that people automatically assume, but I want to make it clear that's not the case."

The student's family is expected to hold a news conference outside the school on Tuesday.

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