Bradford Teacher Arrested And Suspended
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A Bradford Elementary School teacher is out of the classroom after being arrested for driving under the influence. Jeremy Shackleford, 34, teaches social studies and science to fifth and sixth graders. Police said they pulled him over after he had run another driver off the road with his truck off of Highway 185, outside of Dyer. “In his contact with him, [Captain Johnson] suspected that he was impaired, by some sort of intoxicant, and when he asked him to step out of his truck, so he could perform some field sobriety tasks, that’s when he saw a pill bottle in the driver’s seat,” said Sergeant Dave Chaffin of the Bradford Police Department. Sgt. Chaffin said they do not know what type of pills were in the prescription bottle because the label was torn off. And police still do not know if Shackleford even had a prescription for the medication. “Inside it was full with two different types of pills,” Chaffin said. “Right now, we haven’t identified those as to what they are specifically.” Shackleford did admit to police that he had taken some pills, but Chaffin said he did not specify how much or what type. “There was already indication that he had taken something and appeared impaired. That’s why we have the standardized test to administer to gauge a level of impairment. Captain Johnson determined from all of those circumstances that he (Shackelford) was not fit to drive,” Chaffin said. Parent David Boone has two children at Bradford Elementary. He said Shackleford’s arrest is disappointing, since he said it is a good school. But he would be more worried if one of his kids were in Shackleford’s class. “We put our confidence in these teachers,” Boone said. “When our children walk through that door, our children belong to them until we come back and pick them up.” School officials would not comment on camera, but said Shackleford has been suspended without pay until the matter is resolved. Authorities have taken a sample of his blood since the traffic stop, and results from the lab tests are still pending.
