A Florida school resource officer has been fired after shocking video shows him manhandling a middle school student, at one point yanking the girl by her headscarf.
Last week, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office released body camera video of the Nov. 7 incident at Westridge Middle School in Orlando. The footage shows the unnamed deputy strong-arming the female student, who’s Black, as authorities respond to a fight that had broken out, ABC News reported.
The deputy is seen pinning the girl against the trunk of a car while holding her arms firmly behind her back.
“You’re the one who started this s— at school,” he says, grabbing the teen by her scarf and yanking her head backward. “I’m tired of this s–t.”
The deputy then drags the girl to a police car and places her in the back seat. Authorities said the girl was briefly detained before being released into the custody of a parent.
Orange County Sheriff John Mina addressed the incident at a Friday news conference, calling the deputy’s behavior “out of control.”
“I am extremely upset, disappointed and outraged by the conduct of our deputy sheriff in this instance,” Mina said. “I want the community to know that this type of behavior is not going to be tolerated at the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.”
The department moved to terminate the unnamed deputy after reviewing body camera video of the incident. Bodycam from another deputy who was also on the scene showed him addressing the same student moments earlier before the now-fired deputy butted in, escalating the situation, said Mina.
The department’s internal affairs unit is investigating the incident, after which the case will be handed to the State’s Attorney’s Office to determine whether criminal charges will be filed.
The video comes on the heels of a similar incident in South Florida where a Broward County Sheriff’s Deputy was suspended and charged with child abuse after choke slamming a 15-year-old girl at the school he worked at.
That incident also remains under investigation.
