The artist Celos paints a mural in Downtown Los Angeles on May 30, 2020 in protest against the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man who died while while being arrested and pinned to the ground by the knee of a Minneapolis police officer. (Apu GOMES / AFP)
- The life orientation and art teacher was reported to have been suspended on Friday.
- The principal has also taken special leave “after reflecting on the pace and manner of the first response to the reports”.
- The Gauteng education department is also probing the incident.
The Pinnacle College Kyalami teacher who allegedly threatened to re-enact the actions that led to American George Floyd’s death if her pupils did not submit their assignments has reportedly been suspended.
The life orientation and art teacher, identified by SowetanLive as Sonya de Vynck, was reported to have been suspended on Friday.
De Vynck allegedly told the pupils during a conference call: “If you don’t hand in your practice drawings when we get back, then I will give you something to protest about, and maybe sit on your necks.”
She later apologised.
In a letter addressed to parents on Friday, Pinnacle College’s chief operating officer, Christo de Wit, said in addition to the teacher’s suspension, the principal had also taken special leave “after reflecting on the pace and manner of the first response to the reports”, the publication reported.
Meeting with parents
De Wit wrote what happened had caused significant hurt and the school was meeting with pupils directly involved, commending their “courage displayed in these discussions”.
On Thursday, Gauteng education department spokesperson Steve Mabona told News24 the matter would be probed.
He said the department promoted non-racialism and would “always advocate for the same in our schooling environment, irrespective whether public or independent/private schools”.
Four police officers have been charged following the killing of Floyd last Monday after he was arrested on suspicion of using a counterfeit banknote.
Homicide
A video taken by a witness shows an officer kneeling on his neck as he is pinned to the ground. At one point, Floyd is heard saying he could not breathe.
An independent autopsy later found he had died of “asphyxiation from sustained pressure”.
The official post-mortem report recorded his death as a homicide and the cause of death as cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression, the BBC reported.
– Compiled by Tammy Petersen
