Former Principal Faces Charges For Shoving 9-year-old Special Needs Student To Ground [Video]

A former school principal in California has been charged with cruelty to a minor after a video showed him shoving a special needs student to the ground at Wolters Elementary School in Fresno.

The ex-principal, identified as Brian Vollhardt, allegedly pushed the 9-year-old child at the elementary school on June 7. While interacting with the upset kid, instead of "de-escalating the situation," Vollhardt "aggressively shoved the student down," Fresno Unified School District superintendent Bob Nelson said, as reported by NBC News.

The Fresno Unified School District released 30-second footage of the disturbing incident Saturday while warning the viewers of the graphic content. "This situation is awful, and we assure you that we will not tolerate this inexcusable behavior from our employees," the School District said in the news release.

The incident took place when Vollhardt joined a group of students for breakfast. The muted video shows the boy approaching, pointing at Vollhardt, and walking away. When the child approaches him again and repeats the gesture, Vollhardt pushes him on the chest causing him to fall to the ground.

The video might be disturbing to some viewers, viewer discretion is advised:

"There's no excuse for repugnant behavior such as this," Nelson added.

Vollhardt resigned from his role and is no longer employed at the school district as officials initiated disciplinary action against him. After the incident, the school district notified both the cops and Child Protective Services.

Meanwhile, Fresno Police Chief Paco Balderrama said although the cops were notified on June 9, he was only made aware of the incident three months later, on Sept. 6, NY Post reported.

"I can tell you as a police chief in this community, I have a real problem as to the way that this child was treated. As a parent of a 9-year-old kid, which is a very similar age to the victim in this case and who also suffers from anxiety and doesn't always handle situations in the best way, it is troubling as to how somebody who is supposed to protect this child and provide support, treated them," Balderrama said.

Vollhardt faces a misdemeanor charge of willful cruelty to a minor and is scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 26.