Fremont County sheriff’s deputies on Wednesday arrested a former school bus driver accused of slapping a child for not wearing a mask properly on the bus, according to a Thursday news release.

Jaquez Bertram Armand, 63, could face charges of assault, child abuse causing injury and harassment, officials said.

The incident took place in early April as Jaquez was driving students home from school. In a written statement after the incident, a 10-year-old girl said she moved her mask down  below her nose because she wasn’t feeling well. When Armand told her to put her mask back on and she refused, he “slapt me and he walked away,” the girl wrote.

Armand submitted a written statement in which he admitted, “Out of reaction, I slapped her once.”

A video obtained by Gazette news partner KKTV shows a bus driver trying to manually replace a mask over a girl’s nose, then striking her when she pulled away from him.

Fremont County School District officials said they placed the driver on administrative leave pending an investigation, and that he quit before the district could fire him.

“The driver’s action justified termination of employment, as it goes against District policy and our values,” the district said in a statement. “We are very saddened by this incident.”

Sheriff’s deputies arrested Armand on Wednesday and booked him into the Fremont County jail on $1,000 bail. He was issued a personal recognizance bond and released.

Most Colorado educators have had their first COVID vaccine shot