A school police officer appears to body slam a teen girl in a video that has gone viral, and North Carolina authorities are investigating what happened at the school Tuesday.
The Town of Rolesville School Resource Officer Ruben De Los Santos has been placed on paid administrative leave while the incident is being investigated, according to WNCN-TV. The town's police chief said that De Los Santos was breaking up a fight in the Rolesville High School cafeteria about 7:10 a.m. when the incident occurred, according to the station.
In the video, the officer could be seen holding the teen before slamming her to the ground. She appeared to lie still on the floor afterward.
Rolesville Police Chief Bobby Langston said he asked the North Carolina Bureau of Investigation to look into the incident, according to the Raleigh News & Observer.
"We will work diligently to review any and all pertinent information so that we provide an accurate account of the events," Langston said in a prepared statement, according to the newspaper. "We ask the community and all members involved to be patient while we investigate this matter."
A second video that circulated on social media Tuesday showed a fight involving two other girls at the school shortly before the officer slammed the student to the ground, the News & Observer said.
WNCN-TV reported that a witness who recorded the video said the girl the officer grabbed "was trying to defend her sister and to break things up."
Rolesville High School principal Dhedra Lassiter said Tuesday in a phone message to school families that the staff has discussed the altercation.
"An SRO assigned to our school responded to the fight. A video of the incident, widely shared on social media, has prompted questions about the response," Lassiter said in the message, according to the News & Observer.
"WCPSS security is currently in the process of working with the Rolesville Police Department to gather all of the details about the incident to ensure that appropriate action is taken," Lassiter continued.
Irena Como, staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina, which is also investigating the incident, told the News & Observer that she was "disturbed" by the officer's action on the video.
"This kind of force, especially with kids in schools, is never justified," Como told the newspaper.
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