WATCH: Video shows former California Wolters Elementary School principal shoving student to the ground

On September 7, Wednesday, a former school principal in California was charged with willful cruelty to a minor after a video showed him allegedly pushing an 11-year-old student. The incident took place on June 7, but only surfaced in court recently.

In the video, which has since gone viral, 50-year-old Brian Vollhardt, the former principal of Wolters Elementary School in Fresno, California, can be seen interacting with a special-needs student. During the conversation, the student points his finger at Vollhardt, reportedly prompting the principal to push him to the ground.

CNN reported that in the arrest warrant, Vollhardt told California authorities he pushed the child in response to aggressive behavior. As of now, the case remains under investigation.

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Details of the California elementary school case

Newsweek reported that California authorities have not yet determined what led to the alleged push. Despite Vollhardt's attempts to defend himself, school district superintendent Bob Nelson told reporters that the argument began after the principal joined some students for breakfast.

Nelson stated, however, that no matter what the circumstances leading up to the events of the video, nothing warrants such behavior from an educator.

In an interview with the press, Nelson said:

“There’s no excuse for repugnant behavior such as this."

Nelson continued:

"Instead of de-escalating the situation, which is what we’d expect of an educator in our system, the former principal aggressively shoves the student down instead."

Fresno Police Chief Paco Balderrama told reporters in a press release that this case was particularly concerning.

Balderrama said:

"When you have a child that is special needs, 9-years-old, and in an environ where he should be supported and protected and that does not occur that constitutes a crime."

Ann Frank, the student's guardian, also condemned Vollhardt's alleged actions. She confirmed that the 11-year-old is autistic.

She said:

"You cannot put force to these kids like that. My son is autistic. Any parents seeing this video, they know what I'm feeling right now. My son was pushed with force by this principal who was supposed to protect him."

According to NBC, Balderrama reported the incident to the school district on June 9. However, no measures were taken for almost 4 months.

He told reporters that this is due to the fact that, in the past, an overflow of misdemeanor crimes led to their investigations being suspended. He said that in light of the recent case, he has reconsidered this policy and will work more diligently on misdemeanors.

He said:

"I will acknowledge some system failures that were uncovered during this case."

Balderrama proceeded to acknowledge that the department needed to focus more on misdemeanor charges.