Two Louisiana police officers involved in a viral incident of body slamming a 14-year-old have been indicted.
Dan Cipriano and Anthony Dupre, who worked for the Brusly Police Department, were called into the administration offices of Brusly Middle School on Oct. 5 after a student allegedly began arguing with administrators and tried to walk out of detention.
Surveillance footage showed Dupre grabbing the boy before he wrapped his hands around his neck and slammed him to the ground. As the two grappled on the floor, the cop reeled back his arm and appeared to punch the boy. He later lifted the teen off the ground and slammed him to the floor once again. Dupre also jumped on the student. All the while, an administrator picked up the officer’s dropped gun, which was in a holster, from the floor and put it on a desk. As the scuffle continued, the administrator moved the gun further out of reach.
But the violence didn’t stop there. Cipriano entered the office and handcuffed the teen before slamming him on the desk and leading him out of the office.
The former policemen have resigned from the department. Local reports say they claimed the teen posed a threat to them.
Whether the men have sought legal representation is unclear, and the Brusly Police Department and the West Baton Rouge Parish School District, where Brusly Middle is located, have yet to issue public responses.
Now Cipriano has been indicted on a simple battery charge, while Dupre was indicted on a charge of malfeasance, or wrongdoing, in office. Dupre could face up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $5,000 or both. Cipriano could be imprisoned for up to six months or be fined up to $1,000 or both.
But according to the student’s family, those charges are not enough.
“They feel the DA’s office did an adequate job by bringing it quickly to the people, but feel it was a slap on the wrist based on the tape and what they saw done to their grandson,” Kwame Asante, the family’s attorney, told The Advocate on Dec. 14. “This young man will still be dealing with this for a long time.”
The lawyer noted the teen was out of school for a time following the incident but has since returned to class and is receiving counseling. Asante said the student is dealing with ongoing physical injuries but the family has yet to chose whether or not to sue the department or school district.