Lakeland elementary ESE teacher arrested in Polk County
Video above: A teacher and coach in Lakeland was accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a student. POLK COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — An elementary school teacher at Oscar J. Pope Elementary … Kwanazza Lawrence, a teacher and coach at Oscar J. Pope Elementary School in Lakeland, Florida, has been arrested by Polk County deputies for allegedly having an inappropriate relationship with a student. Lawrence was pulled over during a traffic stop after a deputy noticed an obstructed license plate on her car. She lied to the deputy about having her license, giving them a false name and birthdate, and it was discovered that her license had been suspended since 2022. Lawrence is also an Exceptional Student Education paraeducator at the elementary school. She was charged with providing false identification to law enforcement, resisting arrest without violence, and driving with a suspended license.
Published : a month ago by Sara Filips in
Video above: A teacher and coach in Lakeland was accused of having an inappropriate relationship with a student.
POLK COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — An elementary school teacher at Oscar J. Pope Elementary School was arrested by Polk County deputies Wednesday morning during a traffic stop.
Around 7:47 a.m., officials conducted a traffic stop in the westbound lanes of US-92 East near Saddle Creek Park Road after a deputy noticed an obstructed license plate on the car.
Kwanazza Lawrence, 36, of Winter Haven, was pulled over by the deputy but couldn’t provide them with her license, as she claimed she didn’t have it on her. Instead, she gave the deputy a false name and birthdate.
It was discovered that Lawrence’s license had been suspended since 2022.
Lawrence is also an Exceptional Student Education paraeducator at the elementary school in Lakeland.
As the deputy went to arrest the woman, she got on the ground and flailed her arms, resisting arrest.
Lawrence was arrested and charged with providing false identification to law enforcement, resisting arrest without violence, and knowingly driving with a suspended license.
“Teachers are role models for children, and they should lead by example, the overwhelming majority of them do all of the time-this one didn’t,” Sheriff Grady Judd said. “They don’t put up with students lying, or throwing temper tantrums in the classroom. Yet that’s exactly how Ms. Lawrence behaved, and that’s just unacceptable.”