Principal in Providence bit, punched by mom, police say

01:00 AM EDT on Wednesday, March 18, 2009

By Linda Borg

Providence Journal

Staff Writer

PROVIDENCE — The principal of Roger Williams Middle School says he was punched and bitten by a parent in his office Friday afternoon after he told her that her son was being suspended from school.

Aleyda Uceta, 30, of 164 Gallatin St., was charged with assault on school officials, assault on police officers and resisting arrest.

The principal, Rudolph Moseley Jr., said he told Uceta that her 11-year-old son would be suspended for three days, according to a police report. Moseley told the police that she became angry and began yelling at him.

School Department spokeswoman Christina O’Reilly confirmed Monday that Moseley was allegedly assaulted by a parent but declined to provide details.

Moseley repeatedly asked Uceta to lower her voice but she refused, the police said, and Uceta then punched the principal in the face. When Moseley pushed the mother away, her son struck him, according to the police report. Next, Uceta allegedly grabbed Moseley’s left arm and began biting him.

A teacher intervened and began speaking to Uceta in Spanish but Uceta punched her in the face, according to the police.

When officers arrived, they attempted to escort Uceta out of the school but she continued to try to punch Moseley, the police said.

By then, a large crowd of Uceta’s family had gathered, making it difficult for the officers to take her into custody. During the struggle, Uceta bit a patrolman’s arm and struck a patrolman in the face, according to the police. She also kicked another police officer and ripped the pocket out of his jacket.

After Uceta was placed in custody she said, “I’m going to take your gun and shoot all of you,” according to the police report.

While handcuffed and seated on the floor of the school’s main office, Uceta attemped to kick the window panes out of a door, the police said.

Moseley was taken to a hospital for treatment, according to the police. One officer was bitten and another suffered a back injury, the police said.

Yesterday, Moseley said he was fine and that he had no idea what prompted the attack. The 11-year-old boy was suspended from school, he said, because he refused to go to a room where misbehaving students are assigned to cool down. The incident happened around 1 p.m.

“The school is OK,” the principal said. “We’re focusing on teaching and learning.”

Roger Williams is the school where an assistant principal, Robert Perkins, was suspended last week after he stepped on a Dominican flag on Dominican Independence Day. The students had reportedly been running up and down the hallways with the flag. The incident caused an uproar in the Dominican community, which felt that their flag had been dishonored