Indianola principal charged with assault

INDIANOLA, Iowa (AP) - Police say an Indianola high school principal has been charged with assault for an incident at a weekend football game.

A witness told police he saw Principal John Monroe Jr. grab a boy by the hair and pull him over to a chain-link fence around the football field. The incident happened on Sept. 4.

On Tuesday, Monroe was charged with assault without injury.

The boy, 15-year-old Zachary Miller, told police Monroe stopped him while he was walking with friends and asked him if he'd been ejected from the stadium. Miller said he did not recognize Monroe because he'd recently moved to Indianola.

The police report said the principal reached over the fence and grabbed Miller's arm. Miller pulled away. Monroe said he then reached for Miller's shoulder and grabbed his hair by mistake.

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Additional information and interview with principal from KCCI-TV

Copyright 2009 The Associated Press.

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UPDATE: Students Show Support For Suspended Principal (KCCI)