An Eden Prairie woman who teaches kindergarten in Chaska is facing a gross misdemeanor charge after allegedly using excessive force to restrain a 5-year-old student at a local elementary school last fall.
Miriam Deborah Swirski-Lubin, 52, was charged Wednesday, April 16, in Carver County District Court with one count of malicious punishment of a child. She is not in custody and is scheduled to make her first court appearance on May 16.
According to a criminal complaint, the incident occurred on Oct. 23, 2024. A school staff member reported seeing Swirski-Lubin carry a student in her arms and then slam a door when told to put the child down. Surveillance footage reviewed by the school’s principal and police appeared to show Swirski-Lubin grabbing the child by the shoulders in the gym, sitting on the ground, and using her arms to hold the student across the chest.
The footage also showed Swirski-Lubin crossing her legs over the child’s body as other teachers ushered students out of the gym. Once the room was empty, she continued to restrain the student on the ground for an extended period of time.
She was later seen picking the child up and carrying her through the building – up stairs, down multiple hallways – and into a classroom. At one point, the child’s head slipped lower, prompting Swirski-Lubin to toss her upward to maintain her hold, according to the complaint. After arriving at the classroom, Swirski-Lubin appeared to slam the door, visibly upset.
The school principal told police the student was not acting out or posing a threat and that the holds used by Swirski-Lubin are not permitted by school policy. She is not certified in Crisis Prevention Intervention, a training program for safe physical interventions.
The student, a general education kindergartner, is not on an individualized education plan and has no known behavioral or mental health diagnoses, the complaint states.
According to the complaint, Swirski-Lubin declined to give a statement to law enforcement through her attorney.
If convicted, she faces up to 364 days in jail and a $3,000 fine.
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