Ohio State Professor Placed on Leave After Altercation With Filmmaker

Ohio State University has put an assistant professor on administrative leave after the faculty member physically clashed with a documentarian who tried to ask follow-up questions of former university president E. Gordon Gee. The professor, Luke M. Perez, is part of the Salmon P.

Chase Center for Civics, Culture and Society, a center created by state legislators to foster intellectual diversity on campus. Video of the episode shows it began when the filmmaker, Mike Newman, sought one more question after another journalist’s interview. Perez is heard telling the filmmaker that the last question had already been asked, then moving to block his way.

In footage posted by a political blog, Perez reaches for a recording device and then wrestles Newman to the ground, later exclaiming, "I told you not to put that in my face!" Perez insisted the documentarian had laid hands on him.

United States, Ohio

ohio state, luke perez, mike newman, gordon gee, chase center, administrative leave, documentarian, physical altercation, recording device, intellectual diversity