An Ohio State University professor resigned Oct. 23, months after a physical confrontation with a documentary filmmaker on campus was captured on video, according to The Lantern and WOSU Public Media.
Luke Perez had served as an assistant professor at the university’s Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture and Society before being placed on administrative leave following the incident.
The altercation took place Feb. 9 inside Smith Laboratory when documentarian Mike Newman tried to question former Ohio State President E. Gordon Gee, as reported by WKYC.
Video showed Perez knocking recording equipment out of Newman’s hands before grabbing him and tackling him to the floor.
Perez was originally charged with assault before pleading no contest in July to a reduced charge of disorderly conduct.
He received two years of probation, a $100 fine, and a suspended 30-day jail sentence, according to Inside Higher Ed.
Prior to his resignation, an Ohio State sanctioning committee recommended that Perez be fired, labeling the altercation a violation of the university’s workplace violence policy, as reported by WKBN and 10TV. Ohio State’s formal disciplinary process had not been fully finalized when Perez stepped down.
Newman has also filed a separate civil lawsuit naming Perez and Ohio State law professor Christopher Green, according to WKBN. That civil action remains ongoing and separate from the completed criminal proceedings.
