A former police officer was arrested Monday on charges of beating up a young female schoolteacher in front of her students in St. Petersburg, Interfax reported.
Andrei Petrov, 28, who works as a private security guard, was detained Friday on unrelated charges of drug trafficking but on Monday was charged in connection with assault, the report said, citing a spokesman for the Investigative Committee.
A surveillance camera filmed Petrov attacking the elementary teacher in a school corridor on Wednesday, RIA-Novosti reported. He sent the woman sprawling on the floor and then repeatedly kicked her, Interfax said.
Petrov might have attacked the teacher, Olga Kharitonova, after his stepdaughter cut her lip as she ran into another child, RIA-Novosti said, citing school officials. The incident happened in an area of the school overseen by the teacher.
Kharitonova, who was briefly hospitalized, wanted to resign after the attack but changed her mind amid an outpouring of support from colleagues and the public.
Governor Valentina Matviyenko said Saturday that she would take the case under her personal control. She said Petrov “does not deserve to be called a St. Petersburg resident” and possibly “would not be able to live in the city” because of the public contempt he is facing, Interfax reported.
A local court on Monday sanctioned Petrov's arrest on charges of making murder threats, which carry up to two years in prison. No narcotics charges have been filed.
