Long Island Woman In Court For Allegedly Attacking Daughter's Teacher At School

MINEOLA, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- A Long Island woman was in court Thursday for allegedly attacking her daughter's teacher.

CBS2's Jennifer McLogan reported prosecutors said Annika McKenzie chocked and knocked Catherine Lang-Engelhardt unconscious at Alverta B. Gray Schultz Middle School in Hempstead.

Surveillance video shows the seventh-grade math teacher allegedly being put in a headlock and slammed to the ground.

McKenzie claims she was just defending her daughter.

"The teacher fell to the ground. The teacher was put in a choke hold, lost consciousness for a few minutes," Elias Mestizo, president of the Hempstead Classroom Teachers' Association, said.

McKenzie's defense attorney said Lang-Engelhardt pushed her first.

McKenzie's 12-year-old daughter allegedly told her mom that she was being hassled by her teacher, who confiscated her lacrosse stick, and wrote her up for cursing, when the girl refused to show a hall pass.

"We are doing everything possible to ensure a safe environment for students and staff," Lamont Johnson, of the Hempstead School Board, said.

During testimony, the teacher told the jury she was quickly surrounded, scared and couldn't breathe. She said when she came-to, she was dizzy, had blurred vision and had to be hospitalized.

McKenzie faces up to seven years in prison if convicted of felony assault.

Police also arrested McKenzie's 14-year-old niece for allegedly punching the teacher's head. Her case was heard in family court.