Teacher Escorted From School Faces Drug Charges: VIDEO

ST. JOHN, IN - A video taken by students that apparently shows a high school English teacher in Northwest Indiana using cocaine in a classroom between class periods has led to the arrest of a 24-year-old woman. Police in St. John have arrested 24-year-old Samantha Cox and charged her with a felony count of possession of a controlled substance and possession of drug paraphernalia, a misdemeanor. The incident unfolded during the morning school hours on Nov. 22 at Lake Central High School, one of the largest schools in the region.

A video that was posted to YouTube showing the alleged drug activity has been viewed more than 4,000 times on as of 8 p.m. Wednesday and shared widely on social media. The video, which apparently shows Cox preparing the drugs and then moving to another spot in the classroom to take them, was taken during a school hour in which Cox did not have a class.

It was also a "student witness" that alerted the administration at the school, who in turn called police around 11:30 a.m., according to a statement from St. John police. A robocall sent from the Lake Central Superintendent to district families earlier in the day confirmed the incident involved a teacher.

"School officials and police want to recognize and praise the student witness that brought this information to the principal very quickly," police said. "Their actions showed a tremendous amount of fortitude and integrity."

Another video shared on social media shows a woman, later identified as Cox, escorted out of the school by police. She appears to have been wearing handcuffs.

A police official told the Times of Northwest Indiana that a preliminary investigation indicates the drug allegedly used by Cox in the classroom was a mixture of cocaine and heroin. The nearby Dyer Police Department assisted St. John police with the use of a drug sniffing K9 officer.