Alcohol Being Investigated As Possible Factor In Incident Between Teacher, Student

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - A 20-year teaching veteran, David Fritz, left the Sacramento County Jail tonight after being arrested for wrestling with a student in class.

The incident is being investigated as a possibly fueled by alcohol.

Students say they thought Fritz may have been drunk because he was reportedly slurring his words and acting erratically in his first period English class.

The district is calling this incident "unacceptable" and has many people shaking their heads.

"He sounded like his day was just bad, period. He didn't want to be there, didn't want to be in class or deal with any students or anything like that," said Lee Coleman, a McClatchy High School student who witnessed the incident.

It was a bad day made worse after Fritz was carted off campus in handcuffs. Cell phone video showed him tackling a student.

"A student was acting up in class," said Coleman. "The teacher told him to sit down and stuff and he didn't sit down; he didn't pay attention to none of that. So, he sat down and the teacher started yelling at him and we couldn't understand him because he was slurring his words."

Students ran to get a school resource officer and the 58-year-old was taken into custody. Sophomore Josie Williams is in Fritz's fifth period class.

"It just blew my mind. I mean, are you serious? I thought it was a rumor at first," said Williams.

She and other students describe the 20-year educator as tough, yet eccentric. He is a teacher who always invited a healthy dialogue, but because those words turned physical, coupled with troubling witness accounts, district officials say they're looking into whether alcohol may have been involved.

"An incident like this is completely unacceptable in our schools and it's inappropriate, to say the least. We're going to take every step we need to in following up and making sure our students are safe," said Gabe Ross, a Sacramento City Unified School District spokesperson.

McClatchy officials say the student seen in the video wasn't seriously hurt, and all parents received an automated phone call and email from the school.

Students say this is a lesson they never wanted to learn.

"I don't think he should lose his job over it, but he needs to get his head straight," said Williams.

We reached out to Fitz for comment on tonight's story, but did not hear back. Fritz has been placed on administrative leave, and will be in court November 18.