Olympia, Washington | An elementary school teacher was arrested this morning after a drug “bad trip” caused her to strip naked in class and physically assault her 4th-grade students, severely biting two of them and injuring six others.
According to the Olympia police department, 37-year old Laura James was “visibly intoxicated and behaving erratically” when she showed up for work this morning.
Due to a lack of replacement teachers, she was still allowed to teach her class but rapidly went out of control.
Olympia police spokesman, Lieutenant Robert Emery described the incident during a press conference held a few hours later.
“The children said she was screaming and talking in gibberish while drawing symbols on the board. She then started stripping off her clothes and throwing them around.”
The students became agitated and scared by their teacher’s erratic behavior and some of them tried to leave the classroom.
The naked teacher then turned very aggressive and started grasping and biting students while howling and growling loudly.
Lt. Emery says the children were only saved by the rapid intervention of another teacher who intervened and was able to subdue Ms. James.
“Several witness accounts suggest she was in a psychotic state and was convinced she was some type of predatory animal. It’s a miracle that she was stopped before anyone was killed.”
Laura James now faces a total of 23 criminal charges, including aggravated assault, child endangerment, criminal neglect, and indecent exposure.
If found guilty on all charges, she faces a maximum of 65 years in prison and a fine of $85,000.
Her lawyers have already announced her intention to plead “not guilty”, claiming that Ms. James has mental problems and cannot be considered responsible for her actions.
She is expected to appear in court in January for the beginning of her trial.
