Unicamp removes teacher who pointed knife at students – 10/04/2023 – Education

The rectory of Unicamp (State University of Campinas) ordered the opening of a disciplinary administrative process to investigate the conduct of professor Rafael de Freitas Leão, detained on Tuesday (2) on suspicion of threatening students with a knife. The process may culminate in the dismissal of the teacher.

The IMECC (Institute of Statistical Mathematics and Scientific Computing), a unit where Leão is a professor, also determined that he must remain away from teaching activities until the end of the year — a period in which the investigation that will investigate the case must be completed.

On Tuesday morning, Leão was detained by the Military Police on suspicion of threatening students who were on strike at the university.

According to the DCE (Central Student Directory), the students entered the room where Leão was teaching, to communicate the decision to strike, when he pulled out a knife and threatened them.

In a video, recorded by other students, it is possible to see the moment when the teacher runs down a classroom corridor with a knife in hand towards one of the students. The young man clashes with the professor to disarm him, and only then do two university security guards appear to restrain the professor.

The Civil Police recorded only one detailed statement, in which the teacher appears as the victim. The police record contained the version, verified by the PM, that the professor arrived at the university to teach, when he was stopped by a group of students. “The teacher was knocked to the ground and used pepper spray and a knife to defend himself,” the record says.

The case was registered as bodily injury and incitement to crime.

According to IMECC management, Leão taught two subjects at the institute this semester, one at the undergraduate level and the other at the postgraduate level. He will be replaced by other teachers from the unit.

Unicamp’s rectory informed that the deadline for completing the administrative process is 60 days, with the possibility of extension for an equal period. The university’s rector, Antonio José Meirelles, said that he decided to open the process due to the “verified materiality and defined authorship”.

A report prepared by the Campus Experience Secretariat, the body responsible for security at Unicamp, indicated that the teacher had a knife and pepper spray.

In an interview with Sheet, Meirelles had already said that the professor’s stance is unacceptable. According to him, the episode was one of the saddest in the university’s history.

“There were undemocratic stances on both sides in this dispute. It is not possible for a professor to come to the university with pepper spray and a knife. This is unacceptable. Just as it is unacceptable for students or outsiders to prevent activities from taking place “, said Meirelles.