Douglas D. Dawson, 47,  was arraigned in Mahoning County Area Court in Canfield earlier this week where he pleaded not guilty and was released on bond.


Alex Geordan, Canfield Schools Superintendent, says “When we returned from Thanksgiving recess, the teacher was on leave and will not be permitted in our buildings while under investigation for these serious charges.”


On November 27 at 10:48 p.m., Canfield police were called to a home on Greenmont Drive for a physical fight call.


According to a Canfield police report, Dawson's family had gone out of town for a holiday dinner. Upon returning home, Dawson and one of his son's argued about the son wanting to take Dawson's car to go out. After being told no by Dawson, the son took the car against Dawson's wishes.


Dawson's wife told police that they got into an argument about the son leaving. The report states that Dawson "charged her and grabbed her around the neck in a (reverse) headlock and flipped her upside down and pinned her down".


Two of the couple's children tried to get Dawson off their mother, while another went downstairs and called police.


When police tried to arrest Dawson, he resisted, trying to pull away from the officer. When walking through the house's dining room, Dawson shoved his body backward, driving the officer into a glass china cabinet the report stated. After being told several times to stop resisting, another officer used his stun gun on Dawson's right side.


Once Dawson was subdued he was transported to the Canfield Police Station.


A pretrial hearing is set for December 19.