Video shows US officer ‘body-slamming’ 12-year-old girl to the ground

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Video has emerged that shows a US school officer ‘body-slamming’ a 12-year-old girl.

Filmed inside a school in San Antonio, Texas, the schoolgirl can be seen being grabbed from behind before being slammed to the ground and handcuffed.

Shocked onlookers call out “Vanessa, are you OK? She landed on her face.”

She can then be seen being led away by the uniformed officer.

The girl’s mother, Gloria Valdez, told KENS 5 News that the officer’s actions were an overreaction.

"Supposedly he was threatened by her that she kicked him, but in the video her legs never went up," Valdez said.

"All he had to is grab her and put her to the side."

Mrs Valdez claimed that her daughter was knocked unconscious when hitting the ground.

“She was, I guess, unconscious. She doesn’t remember being arrested with handcuffs,” the mother said.

According to CBS News, the officer, who had worked at the school for just over a year, has been placed on paid leave by The San Antonio Independent School District.

A spokeswoman for the SAISD called the video ‘alarming’ and said they were gathering information around what caused the incident.