SANTA MONICA, Calif. (KABC)A Santa Monica High School teacher who was put on leave after using physical force to control a student who was selling marijuana in his classroom has received surprising support on Facebook. The incident was captured on video and has caused a sudden reaction from parents, teachers, students and even graduates. They are showing their support for Black. A Facebook page supporting "Coach Black" has over 4,700 likes. And many want him back in the classroom. Student witnesses say Mark Black, who is also the wrestling coach, tried to confiscate a bag of marijuana and was then injured by the student with a pencil. The cellphone video shows Black locking the student's legs and pinning the student to the ground. "He just wanted him to stop and he was trying to be a teacher and help, and I don't think it was his fault." said student Kylan Townsend. School Board member Oscar De La Tone says Mr. Black is one of his teachers at Santa Monica High School. "I know him very well. I know him to be a fair person, a good person, someone who cares deeply about his students," said De La Torre. He says that the video does not tell the whole story and that the incident brings to light the issue of drug use, something the district needs to address. But in an email to parents, Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Superintendent Sandra Lyon says the teacher's behavior is "absolutely alarming." She put Black on leave during an independent investigation. Lyon has come under fire from parents for initially saying the kind of physical action used by the teacher was unacceptable. On Saturday, Lyon released the following statement to Eyewitness News: "I want to stress that teachers are at times confronted with difficult, even threatening situations, and they must make judgment calls to protect safety. I want to emphasize that putting the teacher who was involved in this incident on leave until completion of an independent investigation is a matter of standard policy and practice; it in no way prejudices the outcome of the investigation." Students hope the situation will have a quick and just resolution. An online petition  pas also peen createu by one of Black's former students. The petition has already gained thousands of signatures.Black did not respond to a request for comment. From the passage, we can infer that   _
the people involved in the matter support Mark Black Mark Black will be eventually fired by the School Board Sandra Lyon won some support from parents initially no decision has been made from the investigation yet