KISSIMMEE, Fla. – A video posted on social media shows a school resource officer at Liberty High School in Osceola County throwing a female student to the ground, news outlet WKMG reported.
The video, which has been viewed more than 70,000 times, shows the deputy slamming the student onto the concrete walkway. Moments later, the deputy can be seen placing the student in handcuffs while a second deputy stands over them.
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As the handcuffs are being placed, the student does not appear to move.
Prominent civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump shared the video on Twitter Tuesday, condemning the incident.
The BRUTALITY of an @OsceolaSheriff deputy body-slamming a student at Liberty HS in Kissimmee FL, hit so hard on concrete she likely lost consciousness! This was NOT a “minimal amount of force necessary” as dictated by the Dept’s use of force policy! We must demand justice! pic.twitter.com/zm8cwQb2gZ
— Ben Crump (@AttorneyCrump) January 27, 2021
Tuesday evening, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office released a statement:
Today the sheriff’s office received information from school officials at Liberty High School about a video posted on social media depicting one of our School Resource Officers in a confrontation with a student. The incident appeared to take place between classes in the hallway. In the video, it shows the deputy taking the student to the ground and placing handcuffs on her.
Our office is in the initial stages of our investigation. We are collecting video, witness statements, and relevant information related to the incident.
We know that the School Resource Officer was in the process of trying to stop the student from fighting another student in the hallway when the deputy took her into custody. Once we receive more information related to the incident, we will provide an updated press release.
The Sheriff’s Office did not release information on the student’s condition, the school resource officer who slammed the student, or the deputy who stood over them.