FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A Broward Sheriff's Office deputy has been arrested after slamming a school student to the floor at a Pompano Beach school, Sheriff Gregory Tony announced Tuesday.
Deputy Willard Miller turned himself in Tuesday morning on one third-degree felony count of child abuse without great bodily harm.
Tony said the incident took place Sept. 25 at Cross Creek School, where the deputy was assigned.
"The byproduct of his actions were deplorable," Tony said. "They were uncalled for and they violated multiple policies just on the optics."
Tony didn't divulge what was said prior to the incident, which was seen on school surveillance video.
The video shows Miller, 38, grabbing a 15-year-old girl by the neck and slamming her to the ground.
"Whatever type of verbal dialogue was going on, it makes no sense and it wasn't necessary," Tony said.
Tony said the deputy is suspended without pay pending the outcome of the investigation. He was removed from the school two days after the incident.
"I'm tired of it," Tony said. "I don't want to spend time standing here about disciplinary actions for a very small population of people who break outside of what they're supposed to be doing. But I'm going to fix it."