A Texas police officer caught on video seemingly slamming a 12-year-old female pupil to the floor, has been fired.
Officials announced on Monday that Joshua Kehm’s use of force was unwarranted. They had been investigating the incident since video footage of his actions was posted on social media last week.
“We understand that situations can sometimes escalate to the point of requiring a physical response,” said senior school official Pedro Martinez, according to Reuters.
“However, in this situation, we believe that the extent of the response was absolutely unwarranted.”
In the half-minute video, shot by an unidentified student at Rhodes Middle School in San Antontio on March 29, Mr Kehm is seen grappling with the student, Janissa Valdez, in a school hallway. It shows him picking her up and throwing her to the ground.
The girl lies motionless while the officer handcuffs her. She then gets up and is led away by the officer. The video does not show what led up to the incident or what followed.
Mr Martinez said Mr Kehm produced an “inconsistent” police report. School district officials said the Texas Rangers, a statewide police agency, is also looking into the matter.
“We want to be clear. We will not tolerate this behaviour,” Mr Martinez said.
Mr Kehm has declined to comment on the incident.
Bexar County District Attorney Nico LaHood was his office is also conducting an investigation to determine if criminal charges are warranted.
The video has fed into a national debate over the role of police in schools and the proper procedure for dealing with unruly pupils by school officials.
Almost 31,000 police officers are at US public schools, and there have been a flurry of incidents of violence by officers in schools, especially against minority students.
“We recognise the high level of emotion generated by this incident, and we want to ensure the public’s trust in this investigation, that it is being conducted without any perception of bias,” Mr Martinez added.
“We know that this incident does not define our district police department, which is dedicated to serving and protecting our school community.”
