POINTE COUPEE — A Pointe Coupee elementary teacher was arrested Thursday on a charge of cruelty to a juvenile after a student's family said she tripped their son and dragged him on the ground.

Ebony Knighten is the teacher at Rosenwald Elementary in Pointe Coupee Parish accused of the crime. Quenitra Joseph says her 4-year-old son was playing at recess with another kid when Knighten stuck her foot out to trip her son. Joseph says she received a call around 2 p.m. Thursday about the incident.

She said school officials told her that after reviewing the video, it shows Knighten intentionally doing so.

"I instantly cried," Joseph said when reviewing the video.

She says the video shows her son falling face-first.

"He could have broken his neck on that ground the way he fell on that ground," she said.

According to Joseph, her son has a condition that can cause seizure-like symptoms if he were to hit his head.

"What would possess you to want to do that to a 4-year-old?" the child's father, Bryon Martin, said.

The family says they want justice for what happened to their son.

"What would possess you to want to do that to a 4-year-old, a grown individual 30 plus," he said.

The Pointe Coupee School Board issued a statement saying they are cooperating with deputies on the investigation; they also said their highest priority is "the safety and well-being of students and staff," and they "do not tolerate conduct that compromises those values."

No further details were given by the school board.