FREEPORT, Maine — The Freeport Middle School teacher charged with terrorizing in February after making a violent gun remark in front of his class pleaded no contest in Cumberland County Unified Court on Monday.
The complaint alleges David Mason, 59, of Yarmouth made a threatening comment in front of his seventh-grade class about firing an assault rifle from the roof of the school while people were present.
“It was a stupid thing to say and wasn’t meant to do harm,” Mason’s attorney, John Richardson, said Tuesday. “He did it to get their attention.”
Mason will have the charges dismissed if he is not involved in any criminal activity for 60 days, said Tamara Getchell, business and communications director for the Cumberland County district attorney’s office.
The terrorizing charge is a Class D misdemeanor and can carry a maximum year in jail and up to a $2,000 fine.
Mason, who has been teaching for 30 years, has not returned to teaching since the incident. He was placed on paid leave initially and more recently has been writing curriculum out of the district office, Richardson said.
Barring a conviction, Mason has no legal barriers keeping him from teaching in the future, Richardson said.
People trust teachers to educate their children and what are the parents getting with this joker. Teaching their kids to say ignorant things. With teachers like this it clear why American students are falling behind other countries in math and science. FIRE THE JOKER!
Take a deep breath…wipe the spit off your monitor…
the american students are falling behind because there parents dont teach them how to have respect.some times teachers have to think out side the box. thats what makes a good teacher. you got kids? my point exactly.
Outside the box by saying he was going to bring a gun to school? What’s that teaching the students? I have a daughter who has two degrees and does very well in life and your point is? There are very good teachers out there but there are also teachers who shouldn’t be teaching no matter how respectful or disrespectful the students are. Reward the good ones and can the ones who shouldn’t be there.
so the guy makes one mistake and he is a “bad” teacher? Why don’t you stop picking on the guy and focus on politicans that make bigger mistakes!
Take a deep breath. I suppose you’ve never in the heat of a moment said something ignorant. I think it is more important for the students to see that the teacher made a mistake, took responsibility for his mistake and took measures to learn from it. That is a more important lesson. The school should encourage the students to hold the teacher accountable. One problem with our society is that we teach our children to let others hold people accountable, we teach them that they can’t make mistakes, and we don’t teach them to think for themselves.
Having served as a public school teacher I can say with some conviction that you have no idea what you are talking about. If teachers could get more parents to do THEIR job -our schools would be better places for our children to learn. Try standing in front of kids with their cell phones ringing while they adjust the chain that runs from their ear to their nose. You might run out of patience a few times during a career that spanned over a number of decades too. It’s not too late- go for it-the schools would love to have your wisdom and insight.
Another problem is when a teacher “disciplines” a student, they are just waiting for the phone call from the parent demanding they explain their actions. “My kid would never do that!”
A phone call from a parent would be the upside….I’d expect Joe Bernstein at my door unless he was too busy chasing down the latest asbestos money maker. In the future we’re not going to have too many folks that are so dedicated that they’ll leave their pride and self esteem at home.
I remember when I once wrote a bad word on a classroom computer in 3rd grade. Teacher called home and told my parents about it and gave me a punishment that was not physical, just loss of a yearly family trip and I was devastated. The teacher then called my parents again and was concerned that my punishment was too harsh. My parents told her, that maybe it was a bit harsh, but it had already been given and if they took it back, that would just set a precedence. I was always more scared of the repercussions at home as opposed to the ones at school. :-)
Society has become so afraid and sensitive. What is more concerning is that the media gave this any attention. Yeah it was a stupid thing to say. No it was not news worthy and was certainly a waste of time, money and energy at the DA’s office. What a waste of tax dollars. The school should discipline him and move on.
Sensible post. Rare these days.
I’m sure if they would raise teachers pay this wouldn’t have happened. Money makes for better teachers. (-;
What did he do wrong again? Because some of the social topics they discuss in schools today are much more damaging to the children.
Teachers back in the 60’s and 70′ didn’t make idle threats. They back handed you right out of your P F Flyers and got back to the lesson for the day. It was the miracle cure for recidivism.
They should teach a class in HS on how to “handle a firearm”. In my opinion, every law abiding citizen should own and know how to operate a firearm.
What happened to Freedom of Speech? Oh Yeah, this is America. Don’t offend anyone.
The terrorizing charge is a Class D misdemeanor and can carry a maximum year in jail and up to a $2,000 fine.
Are you kidding me??? This does not constitute terrorism. This is a school issue and should never have been sent to court. What a waste of tax payer money.
Hey, what’s with all the “fire the joker?” This guy is great. Nothing better than a good threat to kind of “spice up” the teaching.
Did they call wal-mart to report a terrorist, I heard wal-mart and the HOMELAND cops work together
Evidently he just disagreed.