Videos show police Tasering and pepper-spraying students during protest against sexual assault on campus
Four students have been arrested for ‘assaulting and spitting on’ police officers
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Texas police allegedly used taser guns and pepper spray on high school students who staged a walkout to protest against the administration’s handling of a sexual assault case.
Four students of Little Elm High School were arrested for “assaulting and spitting on” police officers on Friday, authorities said.
Viral videos on social media appeared to show police officers manhandling and pushing students around even as many were crying and screaming.
In one video, a police officer used a Taser stun-gun on a student who can be seen falling to the ground. Other students gathered around him as he convulsed for a brief period before going still.
Some students said that police officers shoved them away when they tried to help the student.
“He [police officer] pushes me away, he pulls out his Taser and pushes me with the Taser, and he’s like, ‘Hey, you need to back off.’ I’m like, ‘He’s not breathing, we need to do something about this’,” junior Kaden Throckmorton told NBC 5.
“And he ends up putting the Taser to my stomach, he Tases me, one of the other officers pushes me on the shoulder, he actually rips my shirt,” he added.
The video also showed another police official pulling a girl by her hair and forcing her to the ground.
In a statement on Facebook, Little Elm’s Independent School District said that the protest in the high school campus “caused some students to behave in a way that caused a major disruption”.
“The demonstration was a result of a social media post the day before that contained inaccurate information regarding an incident that happened a month ago,” the statement added.
“Officials from Little Elm ISD and Little Elm Police Department worked together to secure the scene to ensure the safety of everyone at the campus,” the statement added.
School authorities said normal classes resumed after the incident.
While authorities said that the situation in the school was calm due to the school administration and the police’s efforts, witnesses said that the scenes in the school were chaotic.
“There were students being arrested and manhandled on the floor. There were children crying and screaming. People were banging on the doors, police were pushing the children around,” Anna de Luna, a parent who was dropping lunch off at the school for her son, said.
Students said that the protest was organised on social media and was meant to be peaceful and involved a march to principal Gerald Mohammad’s office.
The protest turned violent when students started throwing things at his window, reported Fox News.
Police officers were called to the school to stop students from marching.
“They Tased, pepper-sprayed and used excessive force on these students,” said Kailey, a student who did not want to reveal her last name.