Decatur JROTC instructor resigns after allegedly allowing two students to fight

DECATUR, Ala. (WAFF) - A Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) instructor at Decatur High School resigned in March after allegedly allowing two unruly students to fight.

According to WAFF’s newspaper partner, The Decatur Daily, school system records showed Lt. Col. Michael Snyder resigned in March after multiple school officials accused him of disciplining two students by allowing them to fight each other.

Snyder’s alleged actions violated Decatur City School’s police, JROTC policy and the Alabama Educator Code of Ethics according to Decatur City Schools Superintendent Michael Douglas. According to Douglas, the actions took place on March 23 and Snyder resigned the next day.

According to the records, the two male students were “horse playing” and one of the students hit the other below the belt. The report said Snyder then asked the student if he wanted to get it out of his system.

According to the report of the incident, Snyder at one point counted down from ten to one to stop the students from fighting.

A description of a photograph of one of the students involved in the incident was included in the report, the picture showed blood, scratches and bruises on the student’s face.

According to the Decatur Daily, Snyder was initially appointed senior Army JROTC instructor at Decatur High on March 11, 2015.

The records did not include a statement from Snyder detailing his side of the story.

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