A North Carolina high school is stunned after an 8-second cell phone video showed a school resource officer hoisting a girl into the air and body slamming her onto the floor.
The student, 15-year-old Jasmine Darwin, suffered a concussion, her mother Desiree Harrison told CNN affiliate WRAL
“That’s not how you handle a child,” Harrison said. “She’s only 100 pounds. He could’ve killed her.”
The video does not show what led up to the body slam at Rolesville High School’s cafeteria Tuesday morning, though police later said the officer was responding to two female students fighting.
“I, like many of you, am deeply concerned about what I saw in the video,” principal Dhedra Lassiter said.
The school resource officer, Ruben De Los Santos, has been placed on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an investigation, the town of Rolesville said in a statement.
CNN has not been able to reach the officer for comment. Michelle Archer, president of the state’s Association of School Resource Officers, told CNN she was unaware of the incident and could not comment on it.
There is no standardized training program or manual for the state’s school resource officers, Archer said. She added that there is a training course offered through the North Carolina Justice Academy, but not every school resource officer is required to attend.
“We ask the community and all members involved to be patient while we investigate this matter,” Rolesville police Chief Bobby W. Langston II said Tuesday night, according to WRAL. He said no further information will be released until the investigation is completed.
The Rolesville Police Department has also asked the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation to conduct a third-party review of the incident, the town’s statement said.
Meanwhile, Jasmine said she’s still stunned by the officer’s use of force.
“Every time I look at it, it’s embarrassing,” Jasmine told WRAL. “I didn’t even realize it happened. Like, I was in shock.”
Harrison said she’s also in disbelief.
“When I’m looking at this video, I’m like, ‘Oh my god, this cannot be happening to my child.'”
