One month after police arrested a teacher assistant from J. E. Manch Elementary School, for child abuse or neglect charges, we're now learning more information.
Channel 13 obtained surveillance video from inside the school showing that incident.
While we don't see what led to this incident inside of the classroom, one of the two videos Channel 13 obtained of this same incident shows a man dragging a young student from their arm out of class.
The man then appears to stand over the child for at least a minute, while the child laid on the ground kicking the man several times.
The child then slowly moves down the hallway, stopping several times while the man hovers over her.
Shortly after, the video shows the student turns the corner, the man grabs the student's arm again and drags them, stops then drags the student again.
After a few moments, the student stands up, kicks the man again, then walks off-screen in front of the man.
CCSD Police identified the man as 21-year-old Zachary May, an assistant at the school.
Police say he has been employed by the district since January 2025 and was last assigned to J.E. Manch Elementary School as a Specialized Programs Teacher Assistant.
Officers also say the child is autistic and is minimally verbal.
I showed these videos to Dr. Timothy Jeider.
“Basic tactics right? Control your environment, single directive, go hands-on if you only have to for safety reasons," said Dr. Jeider, a board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist specializing in working with autism.
While watching the videos, Dr. Jeider compared it to professional training tactics he says he learned and shares with his clients.
“Nowhere, anywhere in that training was dragging someone with one arm while you’re carrying stuff as part of a standard hands-on intervention for someone," Dr. Jeider said.
He says the most important tool is de-escalation, and he has a few tips on how to do that.
“Control the environment, get away bystanders, and now you have fewer people engaging the individual," he said. “Single step, simple instructions geared towards here is what needs to happen next to get to the eventual goal. Be the emotional tone you want to see in the room.”
Plus, Dr. Jeider says there are many ways of communication, even for autistic kids who can't speak.
“To that, a nonverbal person cannot communicate is what a lot of people think when they hear that term, but really it’s they don’t use words, they’ll use sounds, gestures," Dr. Jeider said.
He tells me doctors have even created communication boards to help with nonverbal autism. However, he says even if they can't speak back to you, people who are nonverbal can still understand you.
As for Zachary May, he's facing a 1st degree felony charge for child abuse or neglect.
He entered a not guilty plea, and a preliminary hearing is set for March 10.
CCSD Police say they originally arrested him on charges related to battery against a vulnerable person; however, he is currently facing the 1st degree felony charge of child abuse or neglect.
CCSD Superintendent Jhone Ebert spoke to Channel 13 Wednesday, covering several topics, including teacher training.
She tells us while they cannot comment on pending litigation, she says, "They all receive the training necessary to support our children."
We'll continue to follow all the latest developments in this case and bring that to you.
