DERBY — A Derby High School teacher placed on paid leave after an altercation with a black student — an incident that sparked calls for the teacher's arrest by the teen's mother and a local civil rights leader — will return to work Monday.

Technical education teacher Nicholas Behun has been on administrative leave since Monday after allegations surfaced last week that he shoved student Eliot Walker, 17, and placed him in a bear hug.

Walker, a sophomore, said he had arrived late to class about noon last Friday when Behun began yelling at him and threatened to slap him. He said he ignored Behun initially, but the teacher pushed him onto a table.

"I stood up and he comes toward me and pushes me," Walker said. Walker said Behun pushed him a second time after he tried to walk away and then placed him in a bear hug after he threatened to get Behun fired for touching him. He said it took about three minutes and the help of other students to get Behun away from him.

Interim Supt. of Schools Michael Abdalla said he investigated the incident and determined that Behun "acted inappropriately." Abdalla said he will write a letter to Behun, saying that he exercised poor judgment.

Behun could not be reached for comment. Walker was suspended for two days and will return to school today. The teen's mother, Omega Walker, feels Behun should have been arrested for the incident. Omega Walker said her son has not decided if he will press charges. "Seeing a student

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attacking a teacher, the cops would have been up there. If a teacher is attacking a student, they did nothing at all," she said. Others are also calling for more action. Greg Johnson, president of the Valley chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, echoed Omega Walker's call for an arrest. "He needs to be held accountable. It's an assault," Johnson said. "If he puts his hands on a student, that should have been dealt with by the Police Department."

Johnson plans to meet with Abdalla and the Board of Education next week to discuss his concerns.