A civil trial beginning next week will examine whether Seattle Public Schools failed to protect students from a teacher with nearly a decade of documented complaints before he allegedly assaulted a 13-year-old student in 2018.
Zakaria Sheikhibrahim, now 21, is suing the district after math teacher allegedly punched him twice in the face during class at Meany Middle School on January 11, 2018. The lawsuit contends the district received warnings about the teacher’s behavior for years before the incident.
“Seattle Public Schools made conscious decisions to keep this man employed,” said Lara Hruska, one of Sheikhibrahim’s attorneys. “They made purposeful cost-benefit decisions to protect an adult instead of protecting children.”
In June 2011, seven years before the alleged assault, Principal Mark Perry sent an email to district human resources and legal departments warning that the teacher “is unfit to be a teacher and it is only a matter of time, I believe, before something serious happens involving a student and/or possibly a parent. He is a predator and has serious anger management issues.”
Perry added: “I believe Mr. Johnson is a danger to our students. I don’t want to be the one later who is asked after a student or students come forward or a parent comes forward, a student is seriously damaged, and/or a lawsuit is filed and someone asks why we didn’t know and/or why we didn’t do anything.”
Despite this warning, the district transferred the teacher between schools multiple times without removing him from classrooms.
Students reported concerning behavior including displaying a pillow reading “I have issues” while threatening them. Witness statements describe threats to “kill them,” claims about keeping a “blowtorch under his desk,” and stories about setting animals and homeless people on fire.
The January 2018 incident began over a backpack policy violation. According to court documents and witness statements, the teacher confronted Sheikhibrahim, put his forehead against the student’s, and used racial slurs. When the 13-year-old pushed him away, the teacher allegedly punched him twice, slammed his head on a table, dragged him across it, and forced him into the hallway.
An audio recording submitted as evidence appears to capture the teacher telling his next class: “I had a rough morning. I had to punch a student in the face. Well, if you put your hands on me, I’m going to kill you.”
“As a lawyer, it’s very helpful to have a recording like that,” Hruska said. “As a mother, it’s horrifying.”
The district’s investigation found the teacher’s account “not credible” and “was not consistent with over 30 student witnesses.” Sheikhibrahim received a 15-day suspension while the teacher received five days.
“One of our witnesses at the trial is the little girl who recorded [the audio]. She was 12, and she recorded it because she said she was afraid to be in Mr. Johnson’s class, and she was collecting evidence for when something bad happened,” Hruska said.
Attorney Greg McBroom, also representing Sheikhibrahim, said the district’s approach was systematic. “It’s cheaper for them to take a problematic teacher and move them to a different school than it is to actually fight them and the union and to do the right thing and to get that teacher terminated.”
Court documents reveal the teacher was transferred to another school after brief administrative leave and continued teaching until 2021, when he resigned as part of a settlement clearing his personnel file.
McBroom described ongoing effects on Sheikhibrahim: “He has traumatic brain injury. He’s got PTSD. He has severe depression. He withdraws from society. He has difficulty finding jobs, difficulty interacting with people.”
The lawsuit also alleges discrimination, stating the teacher targeted Black male students of African immigrant descent, using racial slurs including calling Somali students “travel ban” and “peanut head.”
Hruska said the case represents broader systemic failure. “I am vigilant because I know about the dysfunction in the district. I know that there’s an extra layer of care that I need to take because Seattle Public Schools is a broken, broken school district.”
The trial begins October 6 in King County Superior Court. Seattle Public Schools did not respond to requests for comment. The former teacher could not be reached.
