Accused Principal Had Earlier Altercation

Scuffles at D.C. School Both Involved Students

A D.C. high school principal accused of assaulting a student this week was involved in a previous scuffle that ended with another student requiring stitches for a head injury, police records show.

According to a D.C. police report, Eastern Senior High School Principal Shawn Hearn, 35, got into a scuffle Aug. 31 near his office with junior Marquete Harris, 17. Hearn was trying to order Harris into his office to suspend him, the report said. Harris became irate and tried to run. As Hearn tried to restrain him, the two ended up falling to the floor.

Harris had a slight cut on the right side of his head and was sent to the school nurse.

Harris's aunt, Virginia E. Williams, said yesterday that he was not bandaged and still bleeding when he arrived home from school. She said she took him to Children's Hospital, where he received two stitches and was treated for a bruised shoulder. The hospital urged Williams to file the police report, she said.

Williams said her nephew -- who has been suspended for previous incidents -- was with a group of boys who were skipping class when Hearn saw them in the hallway. "Even though my nephew is no angel, I do expect him to be treated like a human being," Williams said.

The trouble took place on the fourth day of classes. Williams said Hearn offered to pay medical bills.

The incident was ruled an accident, and no charges were filed.

Hearn declined yesterday to comment on the episode. He was reassigned to the central administration office after the altercation Wednesday, which also occurred at the school, at 1700 East Capitol St. NE. In that incident, Hearn and a student were arrested by police and charged with misdemeanor assault.

Hearn earlier drew the attention of police in a couple of traffic incidents. In November 2004, he was charged with reckless driving for going 83 mph in a 55-mph zone; the disposition of that case could not be determined. A month later, he was cited for driving 100 mph in a 55-mph zone; his license was suspended for two months. Both traffic cases were in Fairfax County.

Hearn, a former assistant principal at Annandale High School in Fairfax, was touted by District public school officials as a talented administrator when he was hired this fall.

After Wednesday's incident, William Wilhoyte, assistant superintendent for Region II, said Hearn had not been involved in any previous physical altercations with students. But several faculty members and students repeatedly claimed that Hearn had been in verbal confrontations with students and staff.

Wilhoyte did not return calls last night. Officials have said they reassigned Hearn pending investigations into Wednesday's incident.

Wednesday's scuffle occurred when Hearn tried to disperse students watching two 10th-grade boys fight over a girl. As Hearn tried to send the students back to class, he grabbed one student. Another student then jumped on Hearn in defense of the one the principal had grabbed, according to police reports and Wilhoyte. Investigators are trying to determine whether Hearn struck the student, Kenneth Holsey, 18, and, if so, whether it was in self-defense.

Staff writer Theola Labbé and staff researcher Meg Smith contributed to this report.