Police Dispach: Corporal Punishment

Three Points, Dec. 18, 4:52 p.m.

A boy's grandmother spanked her grandson's bare backside in front of his class after his teacher complained to her about behavioral problems, a Pima County Sheriff's Department report said.

The boy had reportedly refused to take a note home about his acting up, so the teacher at Robles Elementary School, 9875 S. Sasabe Road, contacted his grandmother, who also is the student's legal guardian, by phone.

The teacher said the grandmother didn't tell her she was going to show up at school, but that's exactly what she did, while the class was working on a stained-glass project. The teacher claimed she didn't hear or see anything, because she was trying to keep the class focused on their project, but other witnesses said the grandmother went straight to the boy's desk, which was by the door.

A deputy spoke to one child witness, who said the grandmother took her grandson to the front of the classroom, pulled down his pants and spanked him three times "really hard." She then left, the student said.

According to the teacher, the boy's behavior immediately changed: He asked if he could finish his work and even gave her a hug at the end of the day.

Deputies weren't treating this as an abuse case, but rather as a disciplinary case, because "there could have been a better venue" for punishing the child, the report stated.