A sheriff’s deputy in North Carolina has been fired after security footage showed him body-slamming a child — twice — while serving as a resource officer at the school.
The incident happened on Thursday, Dec. 12 at Vance County Middle School in Henderson, N.C., according to the sheriff’s office and school officials.
The deputy has not been named, but he was assigned to the school as a student resource officer at the time.
The video shows the deputy and the child, who appears to be a foot smaller, walking side-by-side down a school hallway toward the camera. The deputy abruptly grabs the child around the neck area, lifts him off his feet and throws him to the ground.
The deputy stands over the child for about a second, then lifts him off his feet again, turns and throws him down to the ground once more.
The clip ends with the deputy hauling the child to his feet and dragging him away.
The clip does not have any sound. It’s unclear what provoked the attack.
“We were shocked,” Vance County Sheriff Curtis Brame told CBS17.
“I don’t expect my deputy, or any deputy or law enforcement in North Carolina, to carry out their duties in that way.”
The deputy was terminated on Monday, Brame told local station WTVD.
The deputy was initially placed on paid leave while the State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) looke into the matter. He had been with the sheriff’s department for two years before he was ultimately terminated, Brame said.
Vance County District Attorney Mike Waters said he will look over the SBI’s findings once the investigation is complete.
“We have to look at how it was handled in the moments afterward, and I’m comfortable with how that’s being done,” Vance told CBS17.
Waters told the New York Times in a separate interview that he still doesn’t understand why it happened.
“As a parent who watched the video, it’s very disturbing,” he told the Times.
“We are deeply concerned by the actions that took place,” Vance County Schools spokesperson Aarika Sandlin said in a statement to CBS and the Times. “School and district officials are working closely and in full cooperation with the local authorities to address this matter consistent with school board policy and state laws.
“The safety of our students has been and continues to be of the utmost importance to our district.”
Authorities have not identified the child. They only said that he was under 12 years of age and that he sought medical attention.
The boy’s family told CBS17 that he is doing OK after the incident.
A similar incident happened nearly three years ago at a high school in North Carolina. A school resource officer was caught on video slamming a female student to the ground.
The officer, Ruben De Los Santos, resigned from the Rolesville Police Department three months after the incident took place.
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