Montville HS 'Fight Club' Ringleader Arrested: State Police

MONTVILLE, CT — A former Montville substitute teacher was arrested on a host of reckless endangerment and risk of injury to a child charges for allegedly running a "fight club" out of his Montville High School classroom, according to Connecticut State Police.

The fights occurred during school hours in October 2017, and the substitute teacher, Ryan A. Fish, of Bozrah, allegedly was seen on video "actively encouraging the students to engage in the fighting behavior," wrote state police in the warrant application.

Students as young as 15 were fighters and victims, according to state police. The investigation began in December after a state Department of Child and Families social worker notified authorities that one of the victims had turned up in juvenile court on another matter "showing real and identifiable symptoms of having been traumatized" by the fight club.

"It was determined that the fights occurred under the direct supervision of a substitute math teacher who was an employee of Montville Board of Education," wrote state police in a release. School officials became aware of the incidents in October and were able to obtain cell phone video of some of the fights.

When they confronted Fish about the incidents, he allegedly told them that "boys will be boys," and that "boys do stuff like that" out in the country where he grew up, according to state police.

Fish allegedly can be seen in at least one video moving a trash can out of the way to allow students to keep fighting, and can be heard instructing students to stay away from the classroom door so that they cannot be viewed from the hallway.

The school system fired Fish in October of last year.

Fish was arrested on a warrant Thursday morning charging him with four counts of second-degree reckless endangerment, two counts of risk of injury to a child and second-degree breach of peace.

His bail was set at $75,000, and he was scheduled to be arraigned in Norwich Superior Court on Thursday.

Photo: Ryan A. Fish. Photo credit: Connecticut State Police

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