Harlem Teacher Charged With Assault For Grabbing Student By Neck, Police Say

HARLEM, NY — A Harlem high school teacher is facing assault charges for getting physical with one of his students, an NYPD spokesman told Patch.

Abdu-Allah Torrence, 44, was arrested Wednesday and charged with misdemeanor assault, the NYPD spokesman said. Torrence, a teacher at Thurgood Marshall Academy for Learning and Social Change grabbed a 17-year-old student by the back of the neck Tuesday, police told Patch.

The female student suffered a neck sprain, police said.

Thurgood Marshall Academy for Learning and Social Change is located on West 135th Street between Frederick Douglass and Adam Clayton Powell Jr. boulevards. The school serves grades six through 12, according to the Department of Education website.

A Department of Education spokesperson did not immediately return Patch's request for comment.

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