Keizer police arrested a North Salem High School health teacher Friday after she allegedly screamed at a victim of sexual abuse in a Keizer restaurant.
Trisha L. Ebbs, 50, was at the Hops N Drops restaurant on Keizer Station Boulevard Jan. 24 when she walked to a booth where a 20-year-old woman was eating with her father and called her a “whore,” according to court documents. The altercation happened around 9:30 p.m., Keizer police said.
Ebbs was suspended from her job Monday pending a district investigation, Salem-Keizer spokeswoman Lillian Govus said.
Her husband, McNary High School math teacher Jason Ebbs, was also involved in the altercation and is on paid leave from his job, according to an email to parents from school principal Erik Jespersen. Police did not arrest him.
Both teachers will be paid during their suspension, Govus said. The district won’t begin its investigation until police complete theirs.
Footage of the incident released by the Keizer Police Department
Restaurant employees told police that Trisha Ebbs repeatedly yelled at the woman, calling her a liar. Police said Ebbs knew the man convicted of abusing the woman in a 2017 Marion County case and said that the woman had falsely accused him.
Surveillance video of the incident shows Ebbs approaching the table and wagging a finger at the woman while yelling. The victim’s father then pushes Ebbs away, and Jason Ebbs walks over from a nearby table to push the victim’s father back into the booth as others attempt to break up the fight.
The victim was shaken up and went to the bathroom crying, police said.
Police arrested Ebbs on suspicion of disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor.
Ebbs has been with the district since 2004 and previously taught at McNary High School.
Reporter Rachel Alexander: [email protected] or 503-575-1241.
