Georgia teacher Amelia Strippling resigns after video shows her knocking child over

A south Georgia teacher has resigned after surveillance video appears to show her knocking a special needs student to the ground in a school hallway.

The incident happened at the Tift County Pre-K Center in Tifton on March 17, according to WALB-TV. 

The surveillance footage shows a four-year-old boy with a backpack on standing near an open doorway to a classroom as Amelia Stripling picks up some items from behind the door.

She then proceeds to enter the classroom, but forcefully knocks her left knee into the back of the little boy sending him to the floor.

He stands up as it appears she places her right hand on his chest and shoulder.  

The child's mother, Sarah Patterson, told WALB-TV that Strippling thrust her knee into the little boy's back, causing him to fall forward.

She said that her son is special-needs and just tued four years old earlier this month.

He was not hurt, but his mother has obtained a lawyer. 

The incident has been reported to the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services.

Stippling has resigned from teaching in the district and her teacher page has since been removed from the school's website. 

She had worked for the school system for more than 20 years, according to WALB-TV.

According to the Tifton Gazette, Strippling was presented with the Excellence in Teaching Award in 2014 from the school district. 

Tifton is about 200 miles south of Atlanta.

Stippling has resigned from teaching in the district and her teacher page has since been removed from the school's website. She was presented with the Excellence in Teaching Award in 2014 from the school district