Who Is Ryan Fish? Ex-Substitute Teacher Charged Over Student 'Fight Club'

A former substitute teacher was arrested and charged Thursday for starting a "fight club" in his classroom at a Connecticut high school. Ryan Fish, 23, faces two counts of risk of injury to a child, four counts of second-degree reckless endangerment and breach of peace.

According to local reports, Fish oversaw at least three scheduled fights last October involving five male students ages 14 to 16. Fish was arrested after Montville Police Department conducted a month's-long investigation into the allegations.

“I didn’t necessarily let them do it. I just wasn’t aware of what to do. I didn’t know how to handle the situation,” he said outside of court Thursday, according to NBC Connecticut.

Investigators found Fish was fired months earlier after school leaders learned he hosted a “fight club” in a math classroom. He was also seen in a cellphone video, encouraging students as they slap each other in the middle of a classroom, according to the arrest warrant application cited by NBC Connecticut. He was also seen moving a trash can to make room for a fight.

“As soon as we learned of his involvement in this, we immediately terminated his employment. Student safety is our highest priority each and every day,” school superintendent Brian Levesque said in a statement.

Fish pleaded not guilty to the charges against him saying he did not facilitate the fights. Fish’s bail was set at $75,000, the Hartford Courant reported. According to court documents, students told police Fish talked during one class about smoking marijuana and trying other drugs.

“The truth is, I’m an idiot and wanted to befriend them,” Fish, who was 22 at the time of the incident, told police.

Fish apologized outside court for his behavior after he was released following a written promise to return to court May 8.

“I am so sorry, because I’ll be totally honest, I was trying to reach the kids. I thought these kids are just being rambunctious, I thought they just needed an out. If I had known what it was doing to the kids I would have done something completely different. I would have gotten out of that situation immediately, but I thought I was reaching those kids in some way,” he said.

Fish, who began working at Montville High School as a substitute math teacher in the spring of 2017, graduated from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, Connecticut, with a degree in philosophy.

He wrote on his Linkedin profile about his college studies:

"Invested four years analyzing and dissecting complex texts and philosophical arguments in order to synthesize the core points of each of them. This research taught me how to write my own complex arguments and counters, as well as the proper format and tone a successful argument should take. In addition to my bachelor’s I pursued a minor in psychology with a concentration in adult psychology. This endowed me with knowledge of mature human behavior and thinking, which I used to further strengthen my argument ability."