Pretrial pushed back for Canfield teacher facing an additional charge

Staff report

CANFIELD

A Canfield teacher’s pretrial hearing on several charges was pushed back after an agreement was not reached Tuesday.

Douglas Dawson, 47, now has a Feb. 17 hearing in Mahoning County Area Court here.

He faces charges of domestic violence, obstructing official business and resisting arrest from a Thanksgiving-night incident with his family. He also was charged with one count of violating a protection order Thursday and arraigned on that charge Friday. He has pleaded not guilty to all four charges.

He is a teacher at Canfield Village Middle School and is on paid administrative leave until his court cases are resolved.

A police report on the last incident, violating a protection order, details that he went to his wife’s home on Greenmont Drive to see his kids at 11 a.m. Thursday.

Since there was no confirmation of a visitation before he arrived, Canfield City police arrested him.

Dawson told police he tried to contact his wife twice that morning but did not hear back from her.

His wife told police she had blocked his number and that their kids were not ready to see their father.

The original Thanksgiving incident involved an argument between Dawson and one of his sons about using a car. The son then took a vehicle from the home, which led to an argument between Dawson and his wife, according to a police report.

His wife told police Dawson put her in a headlock and “flipped her upside-down and pinned her down,” the report said.