Teacher Mistakes Boy's Insulin Pump For Phone, Rips It Out

POSTED: 4:24 pm EDT October 4, 2005

UPDATED: 12:58 pm EDT October 5, 2005

CLERMONT, Fla. -- A substitute teacher in Lake County, Fla., was terminated and banned from teaching in the county after he ripped out a student's insulin pump during class apparently thinking it was a ringing cell phone, according to a Local 6 News report.

Officials said a ninth-grade student at East Ridge High School, who is a Type I diabetic, was in class Monday when his insulin pump began to beep, indicating he was low on insulin.

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Witnesses said the class teacher, Richard Maline, 51, asked the student what the beeping was.

School officials said Maline then grabbed the device, thinking it was a cell phone beeping and detached the tube that connects the insulin pump to the student's leg.

The student went to the school's clinic and had the tube reinserted.

Cliffton Hassam told East Ridge High School officials that his insulin pump began beeping in class Friday. But before he could turn it off, Hassam said substitute teacher Richard Maline ripped it from his leg.

Lake County school officials then acted quickly and terminated Maline, Local 6 reporter Louis Bolden said.

"This is a very serious incident," Lake County schools spokesman Russell Anderson said. "Our substitute teachers, we provide them training on the behavior we expect of them in the classrooms. When they do something as serious as this, we don't hesitate to remove them from being a substitute teacher."

Maline told Local 6 News off camera that his is an unfortunate situation.

The Lake County Sheriff's Office is investigating the incident and trying to determine if there was any criminal intent.

Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.