A former Florida school resource deputy caught on video pulling a 13-year-old girl by her hair before calling a group of shocked onlookers “stupid little children” has been criminally charged.
This week, the Orange-Osceola County State Attorney’s Office announced battery charges against former Orange County Sheriff’s deputy Harry Reid, Orlando station WESH reported.
The then-deputy was assigned as a resource officer at Westridge Middle School when he was filmed using an excessive amount of force against a student. Reid was immediately removed from his post after the November 2019 incident and subsequently fired by the department.
“On January 30, 2020, our office did in fact file an Information charging Harry Reid, the former Orange County Sheriff’s deputy accused of pulling a girl by the hair, with one count of battery,” State Attorney Aramis D. Ayala said in a statement. “This is an open and active investigation which limits our ability to comment any further.”
Bodycam video of the incident released by the sheriff ‘s department last year shows Reid strong-arming the teen, Wilmica Edmond, at a nearby apartment complex as police responded to reports of a fight. The incident also was captured by bystanders and posted to social media.
In the clip, the deputy pins Edmond against the back of the cop car and pulls her arms behind her back.
“You’re the one who started this s— at school,” Reid is heard telling the teen before grabbing her scarf and yanking her backward. “I’m tired of this s–-t.”
Edmond, who wasn’t arrested and released into her parent’s custody after a brief detainment, told ClickOrlando she suffered neck pain and subsequently had trouble sleeping after the incident.
In a similar incident last year, a Broward County Sheriff’s deputy was arrested and charged with felony child abuse after choke-slamming a teenage girl.
