Fort Worth ISD special ed teacher arrested, accused of grabbing 2 kids by throat
A Fort Worth ISD elementary teacher was arrested Monday after she was accused of grabbing two children by the throat at school last month, according to police.
Benbrook Police Department officials said in a statement that they were notified of the Aug. 20 incident at Westpark Elementary School, which is located in Benbrook but part of Fort Worth ISD, and they conducted an investigation. Warrants were obtained for the teacher’s arrest, and she faces charges of two counts of injury to a child, police said.
The teacher is identified as 61-year-old Gail Elizabeth Patterson in court records. She was booked into the Tarrant County Jail but has since bonded out. The case has been submitted to the Tarrant County Criminal District Attorney’s Office, according to police.
“Fort Worth ISD confirms that a teacher at Westpark Elementary School was placed on administrative leave in August following an incident involving a student,” district officials said in a statement. “The district has cooperated fully with law enforcement and Child Protective Services since that time.”
The families of the two students are calling on Fort Worth ISD to terminate Patterson’s employment and permanently bar her from working at any school in the district, according to Varghese Summersett attorney Ty Stimpson.
“This is a profound betrayal of trust,” Stimpson said in a statement. “When you send a child to school, you expect them to be nurtured and protected, not victimized by their teacher. While it can be challenging to take legal action against a school district, Fort Worth ISD has established policies that must be followed. We are guiding these families through this process, ensuring that the students’ complaints and grievances are addressed.”
Patterson remains on administrative leave, according to the district. The Westpark PTA website lists her as a special-education inclusion teacher in the school’s SPED/RISE program. Her online bio, which has since been removed from the school’s website, states that she previously worked as a reading interventionist at Hurst-Euless-Bedford ISD, a reading and math tutor, and a dyslexia facilitator at Fort Worth ISD.
Patterson’s defense attorney didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
This story was originally published September 19, 2025 at 10:06 AM.
