School officials and local police are investigating after disturbing cell phone video uploaded to YouTube shows a school police officer in Texas viciously slamming a 12-year-old girl to the ground.
In the video, an officer can be seen struggling with the young girl before slamming her to the ground where she lies motionless before being handcuffed.
The incident occurred at Rhodes Middle School in San Antonio, TX., on March 29, the San Antonio Independent School District said in a statement Wednesday.
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“This video is very concerning, and we are working to get all of the details. We certainly want to understand what all occurred, and we are not going to tolerate excessive force in our district,” said Leslie Price, executive director of communications for the district.
According to multiple reports, the incident began after two female students began yelling at one another.
School officials said they became aware of the incident when the video was posted to social media. The officer, identified as Joshua Kehm, was placed on paid administrative leave Wednesday morning.
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The Grade 6 student, identified as Janissa Valdez, told NBC affiliate WOAI in San Antonio she doesn’t remember being thrown to the ground. She added that the incident occurred as other students gathered, hoping for a between her and the other girl.
“I was going up to her to tell her let’s go somewhere else so we could talk but that’s when the cop thought I was going at her,” Janissa told WOAI. “I wasn’t going to do anything.”
This appears to be the latest in a string of incidents involving school police officers and violent interactions with students.
In March 2016, two Baltimore school police officers were charged after cellphone video showed one repeatedly slapping a student.
Video from an incident in October 2015 showed a South Carolina school police officer grabbing a female student around the neck, flipping her backwards and then throwing her across the classroom floor.
Critics have said the video illustrates how students are aggressively policed in schools across the United States.
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