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High school teacher arrested on child abuse and gun possession charges

The victim alleges their teacher smacked their buttocks, grabbed them by the neck and threw their phone.
Tampa police vehicle
Posted at 8:22 AM, Oct 14, 2023

A teacher in Florida was arrested on felony child abuse and gun charges Friday afternoon.

The educator, from Chamberlain High School in Tampa, is also a Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) Captain.

The Tampa Police Department (TPD) said the 16-year-old victim reported that their teacher, 55-year-old Michael Bradford, got upset with him because he refused to participate in personal training.

The victim and witnesses told authorities that Bradford was standing over the victim, who was in a plank position, smacked the teen on the buttocks, and said, "Here comes the T-Bag."

According to the victim, Bradford grabbed them by the neck when they attempted to stand up, and when they tried to use their cell phone to call their parent, Bradford reportedly grabbed the phone and threw it toward a truck in the parking lot.

Police said the student was not injured, and school employees immediately notified the School Resource Officer.

Authorities said Bradford was escorted to his office to get his personal items when they found a Colt .45 caliber handgun and a loaded magazine inside an office cabinet.

TPD said Bradford was arrested and transported to Orient Road Jail, where he was charged with child abuse and possession of a firearm on school property.

This story was originally published by Stephanie Cardenas at Scripps News Tampa.