Videos circulating on social media appear to show a Florida school resource officer slam a female student to the ground and handcuff her to the horror of those watching.
The officer, identified Wednesday by the Osceola County School District as Deputy E. Fournier, can be seen in videos taken from different angles holding the girl’s hands behind her as he slams her to the concrete of an outside walkway at Liberty High School in Kissimmee.
It is not clear what happened before the recording started or what, if anything, prompted Fournier to detain the student.
The girl’s head appears to hit the ground before it bounces back up and she goes limp, again resting her head on the ground as the officer handcuffs her and another stands over her. Surrounding students yell in disbelief.
A school resource officer detains a student after slamming her to the ground at Liberty High School in Osceola, Fla., on Jan. 26, 2021.via Twitter
District spokeswoman Dana Schafer told NBC News the student was “checked out” by paramedics at the school, but could not comment further on her condition. She referred additional questions to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office, the officer’s employer.
The sheriff’s office said the incident was under investigation.
“We are collecting video, witness statements, and relevant information,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement. “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,” the statement said.
The student has not been identified. A sheriff’s office press briefing is scheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday.
