ANSON COUNTY, NC (WBTV) -
An Anson County teacher, and decorated military veteran, is facing the possibility that she may not have a job much longer after she admits that she slapped a teen student during a confrontation over saggy pants.
Pat Frost is an English as a second language teacher for Anson County Schools.
Frost, who has been teaching for 13 years, says the confrontation happened back on June 5, 2012 at Anson High School.
She says an 18-year-old student, Jonathan Smith, was walking around with saggy pants and she asked him to pull up his pants.
In a letter from her attorney, Frost says the teen refused to pull up his pants and refused to identify himself. Frost claims that he told her to "get the [expletive] out of his way" and shoved past her.
Frost began to follow the student, who reportedly became agitated and yelled that he would "[expletive] her up" and began to charge at her, according to Frost's attorney.
"I've heard kids cursing, using the f-word […] being disrespectful, but never to this extent," Frost told WBTV.
"Fearing she was about to be hit, Pat tried to create distance with the student and slapped him in the face in that effort," the letter read. "He responded by striking Pat in the head. He then took off his shirt and started pounding on nearby cars in the parking lot yelling that he was going to get her fired and hoped that she would be killed."
Wadesboro Police told WBTV that the incident was caught on tape.
When asked why she followed the teen outside of the school - why didn't she get the principal or the school resource officer, she replied "I didn't know where the principal was. All I wanted to do was get his name and that would have been it."
Frost was suspended by the school district after the incident was reported. Frost and Smith have filed criminal charges against one another.
Frost's attorney, Josh Van Kampen, says her suspension sends the wrong message to teachers.
"It's not going to get better by running away. I believe students get away with things because teachers are scared," Frost told WBTV. "It's not about me keeping my job. It's about teachers being safe. Children need to be safe and teachers need to be safe."
Smith's mom told WBTV that Frost needs to lose her job.
District Superintendent Dr. Greg Firn told WBTV's Sharon Smith that the incident is still part of an active investigation. He has another month to make a recommendation to the school board about Frost's future with the school district.
It's possible the district will wait until the criminal case is resolved against Frost before making a decision. The case is slated to head to court in three weeks.
There is an online campaign to let Frost keep her job and so far, nearly 600 people have signed the petition.
