Police Investigate Report of Drunken Capo Unified Teacher

The Orange County Sheriff's Department is investigating allegations that a substitute teacher for the Capistrano Unified School District was drunk while working with a sixth-grade class at Carl Hankey K-8 School in Mission Viejo, City News Service reports.

"One of the students reported to another teacher she was acting very strange,'' Sheriff's Department spokesman Jim Amormino told City News Service, adding that students in the dance class were dancing on desks and chairs.

"At some point, she walked out of the classroom by the principal's office,  and the principal noticed her balance was unsteady, so she called her into the office and detected an odor of alcohol on her,'' Amormino said. "[The principal's] concern was she didn't want her getting in a car with these students getting out of school, so another faculty member called the sheriff.''

According to City News Service, deputies arrived at Carl Hankey at 2 p.m. Monday to investigate. The substitute was hired to watch sixth-graders in their last class of the day. By the time deputies arrived, the teacher was gone, but three sixth-grade boys alleged she had engaged in "misconduct,'' Amormino said.

Investigators are not being specific about the allegations because the investigation is ongoing, Amormino said.

Patch's attempts to reach Amormino were unsuccessful.

"At this point, we only have allegations and don't have any of them substantiated at this time,'' Amormino told City News Service. "It basically involves things a 50-something-year-old teacher should not be doing.''

Investigators had not contacted the teacher as of this afternoon, as they were still gathering evidence, Amormino said.