COLUMBUS — A committee has recommended that an assistant professor be fired after a video encounter with an independent journalist back in February.
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As previously reported, the argument happened inside The Ohio State University’s (OSU) Smith Laboratory on Feb. 9.
Michael Newman, an independent journalist, said he was punched by Assistant Professor Luke Perez on Monday while attempting to interview former OSU president E. Gordon Gee.
The footage captured a hallway confrontation that ended with Newman appearing to fall to the floor.
Perez was placed on leave the day after the alleged assault.
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An Ohio State Sanctioning Committee reports that the Office of Human Resources, Employee and Labor Relations (ELR) investigated the allegations. They found that Perez slapped personal property from Newman’s hands and tackled him to the ground, according to our news partner WBNS-TV.
According to the report, Perez’s actions constituted workplace violence. The committee also interviewed ELR investigators. They said that Perez’s actions were “the most egregious incident of workplace violence they had investigated.” It also states that his actions caused reputational damage.
In the report, Perez did not acknowledge that his conduct violated university policy. It said specifically that he engaged in violent behavior and that Perez claimed he acted in self-defense and in accordance with Ohio State’s “active aggressor” guidance, WBNS says.
The panel rejected this claim and said that the video evidence did not support the notion that Newman was not aggressive.
The committee recommended that OSU fire Perez.
When WBNS asked if Perez was fired, a university spokesperson said OSU cannot comment on personnel matters.
News Center 7 checked Perez’s biography page on the university’s website. It is still active.
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