Florida Teacher Drowned Raccoons In Class, Gets Suspended And Is Under Investigation

A teacher at a Forest High school in Florida was placed on administrative leave with pay Tuesday after students reported that he drowned two wild raccoons and a possum in a large garbage bin during a science class Monday. Dewie Brewton, an agriculture teacher, was working at the high school since 2006.

A video of the shocking incident shot by a student who was upset about it has gone viral on social media.

“Some students were left with nightmares after the sixth-period agricultural science class," a student told Channel 9. "My friend said that the class before that, they were putting the water in the buckets," he added.

The raccoons reportedly created a nuisance and killed several chickens that were being raised by the students and staff in a shed behind the school premises. The raccoons did not drown easily, the student said.

"They finally took the cage out of the water, and they trapped it into another smaller cage, where the top of the cage would go down into the water," he said. "And that's how they killed the second one."

The mother of the student too was unhappy. She said her child came home in tears and was yelling and angry over what happened to the animals.

"One of the raccoons ate a chicken that they were raising so the teacher pinned the raccoons, caught them in cages, took the cages, filled up large trash cans full of water and had the children drown the raccoons in the cages inside the water. Inside the trash cans," she told KRON4.

"It made me sick. It made me sick to my stomach. It's terrible. It still does make me sick to my stomach," she said, according to Channel9. "We want people to know he had them in cages, he had them trapped. He could have had somebody come and relocate the animals.”

Kevin Christian, a spokesperson for Marion County School Board, said in a statement, “While law enforcement tells us the teacher may not have done anything illegal, his actions before students are certainly questionable. Until our investigation is complete, I cannot share further details. The district is determining the status of the teacher at this moment."

The incident is being investigated by the school district, he said.

“We received statements that the teacher drowned multiple animals in front of students, and with student participation, because the animals were nuisance animals to the AG program at the school,” he added, reported Ocala.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FFWCC) is also investigating the incident.

“The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation is looking into an incident that occurred at Forest High School in Marion County involving a raccoon. FWC Officers are investigating to see the legality of the issue that occurred. The FWC takes these matters seriously," FFWCC said in a statement on the matter.