Former Northern Colorado teacher shares story after being found not guilty of strangling child

A former Northern Colorado teacher is sharing his gratitude for a jury of his peers after they found him not guilty of strangling an elementary school student in 2024. Josh Wainscot, 41, was recently found not guilty of felony strangulation and misdemeanor assault of a child.  

In his first interview since being acquitted, Wainscot told CBS News Colorado's Dillon Thomas he was blindsided by his arrest in September of last year. The arrest came nearly a week after he helped break up a disturbance on the playground.

"I saw a teacher struggling with some students. I saw a kid going to swing to hit another kid. So, I scooped him up and put him on my hip like this and took him inside, set him down and we went about business and the rest of the day," Wainscot said. "That day I didn't think anything had happened that would change my life."

The incident took place at Maplewood Elementary School in Greeley at the end of August.

However, Wainscot was questioned days later by law enforcement after the student involved in the incident accused Wainscot of assaulting him. The student had told police he had difficulty breathing and was kicking Wainscot while being carried into the building.

"For anyone who has known me as a real person, that is never who I have been," Wainscot said.

Wainscot was arrested on the front patio of his home at the beginning of September. He said that was the first time he had ever been in trouble with the law beyond a speeding infraction.

"That hurt, that hurt. If I am honest, it hurt a lot," Wainscot said. "To hear somebody try to say I was intentionally trying to harm a child was really hard."

Wainscot, who is no longer employed by Greeley-Evans School District 6, pleaded not guilty and was taken to trial. He was prosecuted by the Weld County District Attorney's Office. He said the main piece of evidence used against him was an 8 second video of the incident from three different angles. However, Wainscot said he believed only one of the angles truly had a decent perspective of what happened. He admitted the video might have looked concerning to some people, however he said that is when it was presented in slow motion and without context.

"When you slow anything down in 8 seconds you can make anything look not super great," Wainscot said.

Wainscot said it was stressful to put his future in the hands of a jury of his peers. However, the jury ultimately found him not guilty on all charges.

"When you find out you get your life back after all of this, it is hard to not get emotional," Wainscot said.

The family of the alleged victim in the case, a child, requested that the court proceedings not be broadcasted or streamed, likely to protect the privacy of the minor. CBS News Colorado was not given access to the video of the incident for this report.

Wainscot said he was disheartened by what he said was a lack of support from both local investigators and his former school district. A spokesperson for Greeley Evans District 6 confirmed Wainscot was no longer employed by the district but declined to comment on CBS News Colorado's requests for interview or further statement.

Wainscot said he reached an agreement with the district to part ways last year, however did not elaborate on what the nature of that agreement was.

He went on to thank the Colorado Education Association and the education association in Greeley for defending him during the trial. He said the court process and defense fees would have devastated his family if he wasn't given the support of the unions.

Wainscot said he shared his story with CBS News Colorado in hopes of encouraging other educators to not fear intervening when it comes to protecting students, staff or the building from a perceived threat. While educators are not given a blanket pass to do whatever they want in those types of situations, law officials tell CBS News Colorado there are legal protections for educators who intervene to protect others in many situations.

Wainscot said he personally believed the verdict by the Weld County jury was also a message to educators to not hesitate to intervene when needed.

"(The jury was saying) we stand up for our teachers. We see what is going on and what teachers have to deal with. And this shouldn't be one of those things," Wainscot said.

In a statement issued to CBS News Colorado, Weld County District Attorney Michael Rourke claimed prosecutors had a good case and strong evidence against Wainscot.

"We presented to the jury what we believed was a strong case that could be proven beyond a reasonable doubt. While it is not the result we were hoping for, we do understand and respect the jury's decision," Rourke said.