A West Rowan High School teacher and coach has been charged with assault after an altercation with a student, the Rowan County Sheriff’s Office said Friday.

The student was given a juvenile referral for disorderly conduct.

Brian Linville, 42, of Mocksville, was served with a criminal summons for simple assault Friday morning and given a May 4 court date, the agency said in a news release.

According to the news release, a 15-year-old West Rowan student took a school-issued laptop from Linville’s desk Thursday and tried to leave the classroom. Linville blocked the student from leaving and told him to go back to his seat.

The student pushed Linville, “at which time Mr. Linville picks up the student and pushes the student into a metal cabinet, and finally then throws the student to the floor,” the news release said.

Linville and the student went to the office to report the incident to school officials and Deputy Ryan Walker, the school resource officer at West Rowan.

Walker interviewed other students in the classroom at the time of the incident and obtained a video shot by one of the students on a cellphone. The video has been placed into evidence and will be presented when Linville goes to court.

Linville was not required to appear before a magistrate for the criminal summons and was not placed under bond, the news release said.

Linville has been suspended from his job without pay.

According to district personnel policies, an incident will be investigated and the superintendent “will consult with appropriate personnel to determine whether the employee’s conduct requires dismissal or other disciplinary action.”

Linville has been an employee of the Rowan-Salisbury School System since August 2009. He teaches math and is an assistant football coach. He had not had any discipline issues before the incident.