State prosecutor Rebekah Rennicke argued that Rumbelow’s actions were unreasonable because he should have known that the boy was right behind the door since he had been kicking it. She said the door was opened “forcefully,” showing a disregard for the 8-year-old’s safety.
“How hard does someone have to push open a door to cause that?” she said of the “goose egg” on the boy’s head.
Madison gym teacher faces charge of reckless child abuse after door hits student, says complaint
Madison gym teacher faces charge of reckless child
Cynthia Lovell, the school nurse, said the boy had an inch-long bump on his head, about a quarter of an inch wide, with a half-inch superficial cut. She said there were occasional dots of fresh blood.
Rumbelow, who is now retired after a more than 30-year teaching career in which he won multiple awards for his work as a physical-education instructor, testified that the door was “big, old” and “heavy,” with some natural resistance because of a door-closing mechanism on top. It had no windows. He said it took a bit of a push to get the door open, and he did not intend to hit the boy.