A North Carolina teacher found himself in hot water when a middle schooler recorded him puffing a cigarette in front of other students during school hours.
WSOC reports the incident happened at Randolph IB Middle School in Charlotte. Amani Barner, who is in eighth grade, was in French class when she smelled cigarette smoke. “I wasn’t sure, it kind of went over my head, but I wasn’t sure what to think about (the smell) at the time,” she said.
Barner began recording on her phone and caught footage of her teacher smoking by the doorway. One student is filmed waving the smoke away from their face. “He flicked a cigarette at another student who sat right behind me,” she recalled.
The student took the footage to school administrator, and they have launched an investigation on the reported tobacco use. The teacher has since been suspended without pay.
It should be noted the teacher was wearing a red beret, so he may have been trying to appear Parisian. The guise may have also been an excuse to light up in class.