Nebraska superintendent arrested after fight with student over cowboy hat

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — A school superintendent in western Nebraska has been arrested, authorities said Wednesday.

Mark Bejot, superintendent of Maywood Public Schools, is charged with intentional child abuse with no injury.

On Oct. 1, Bejot got into a fight with a 12-year-old student over a cowboy hat, according to court documents.

The Frontier County Sheriff’s Office said Bejot, 64, told the student to remove the hat because wearing it was against school policy.

Surveillance video shows the boy taking off the cowboy hat and holding it at his side, the sheriff’s office said.

Bejot and the boy continue talking, then the superintendent “leaps for the hat,” according to an arrest affidavit.

The video shows the two struggling over the hat before Bejot grabs the student by the armpits and pulls him off the stool, the affidavit says.

The student fell to the ground, and the sheriff’s office said the superintendent held him down until he could grab the cowboy hat.

Bejot told investigators that he grabbed the student to try to stop him from falling off the stool.

The superintendent is set to appear in court Nov. 1.