A yawn during class escalated into a confrontation that has a Motlow College student charged with assaulting his teacher.
The student, Spencer Kane Adams, has been charged with misdemeanor simple assault after he allegedly cornered his instructor, Elizabeth Honaker, behind her desk after she tossed him out of class after he let out a yawn.
“He made an annoying yawn,” the teacher told the judicial commissioner in swearing out the assault warrant against her student, noting she asked for an apology for his interruption of her class.
Adams reportedly replied that “she would be waiting a while” if she expected an apology from him, to which the teacher countered she needed an apology before she would continue class.
It was at that point Adams reportedly cursed at his teacher, prompting her to tell him to leave class and go see the college dean.
While leaving the class as instructed, the student reportedly returned shortly thereafter and confronted his teacher.
“He became very tense and aggressive,” the teacher said, noting he blocked her behind her desk and began yelling profane language in her face. “He made gestures with his fist.”
Honaker said the student placed her in fear by his actions, even though there was apparently no physical contact. Under state law, contact does not have to occur to constitute the crime of assault. The requirement is only that the aggressor’s actions place the victim in fear of bodily injury.
He will face hearing Jan. 16 before General Sessions Judge Bill Locke.