Edgewood School Teacher Charged After 'Altercation' With Student

NEW HAVEN, CT — Police have charged an Edgewood School teacher in connection with an "altercation" in a classroom Monday.

Deron Beasley, 42, of New Haven, and a student were "involved in an altercation," according to police and school officials. The student received minor injuries and was released to a parent, police said.

The incident occurred during a lockdown of the school as a result of a social media gun threat, which police later determined wasn't a credible threat. (Read more about that story here.)

Beasley was charged with risk of injury to a minor, second-degree reckless endangerment and third-degree assault, court records show. He was initially held on $15,000 bond before being released by the Bail Commissioner, police said.

Monday night, New Haven Public Schools spokesperson Justin Harmon said a school staff member was arrested and that the district "takes very seriously any incident that poses physical risk to a student."

The K-8 school is officially the Edgewood Creative Thinking Through STEAM Magnet School in Westville.

Harmon did not note it was a teacher who was arrested Monday night, but said the employee was placed on leave following the incident.

Beasley is a "dance educator, dancer, and choreographer with over 20 years of experience," according to the Neigborhood Music School profile.

A New Haven native, in 1998, according to the profile, Beasley was awarded the Juilliard Experience Scholarship, attended the Ailey School in New York City, and in 2002, began working as a New Haven schools dance teacher. Beasley is also a member of the New Haven Ballet board of directors.

Patch has obtained and viewed video posted to a public Facebook page which purports to show the incident. Patch does not share identifying images or video of children or of victims, and given police charges, the boy is a victim, and a juvenile.