A nine-second video posted on Twitter showing a police officer lifting a 15-year-old African-American girl student and dropping her to the floor with force in front of students has sparked outrage
Viral Video: Disturbing footage shows white cop body-slamming black girl to the ground in the US
The video shows Rolesville High School cop Ruben De Los Santos picking up a girl and slamming her down. She lies prone for a moment on the floor. Pics/Twitter
ROLESVILLE: A Rolesville police officer has been placed on administrative leave after a video showing him slamming 15-year-old Jasmine Darwin to the floor gained national attention Tuesday. The nine-second video posted on Twitter on Tuesday shows Officer Ruben De Los Santos lifting the student into the air and dropping her to the floor before leading her away from a crowd of students at Rolesville High School.
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Second video
A second video that was circulated Tuesday on social media shows a fight involving two other girls at the school shortly before the officer slammed the student to the ground. Langston said De Los Santos had responded to a fight on Tuesday in the school’s cafeteria area.
“We will work diligently to review any and all pertinent information so that we provide an accurate account of the events,” Langston said in a prepared statement.
“We ask the community and all members involved to be patient while we investigate this matter.”
Wake County school officials said they’re investigating and will keep families at the school informed about what they learn.
Rolesville High School cop Ruben De Los Santos
Taking action
“WCPSS security is currently in the process of working with the Rolesville Police Department to gather all of the details about the incident to ensure that appropriate action is taken.” The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina said Tuesday it is also investigating. “We’re very disturbed by what we saw in the video,” said Irena Como, staff attorney for the group.
The school system contracts with law enforcement agencies to provide an armed officer at every high school and most middle schools.
Officer on paid leave
Rolesville Police Chief Bobby Langston tells the Rolesville Board of Commissioners that Officer Ruben De Los Santos has been placed on paid administrative leave after video surfaced on Twitter.
Principal’s response to parents
“Good Evening. This is Ms. Lassiter, principal at Rolesville High School, calling to inform you of an issue affecting our school today. This morning, school staff addressed an altercation in the hallway of our school. An SRO assigned to our school responded to the fight. A video of the incident, widely shared on social media, has prompted questions about the response. WCPSS security is currently in the process of working with the Rolesville Police Department to gather all of the details about the incident to ensure that appropriate action is taken. As you know, I care deeply about our school. I have always tried to keep you informed. I will share more information about the incident as soon as I am able. Thank you for your continued support and cooperation.
Have a good night.”
Parents ‘shocked’
Tanya Pearson, the parent of a sophomore at Rolesville High, said she was “shocked and disgusted” by the incident. Pearson said she first learned about the situation when her daughter, studying in the same school, texted her about it.
What happened?
Jasmine Darwin
- Incident occurred in Rolesville High School and was posted on Twitter Tuesday
- Officer Ruben De Los Santos is seen picking up the teen and throwing her down
- She lies prone for a second and appears groggy as he drags her up and away
- What happened before and after the clip has not been confirmed by authorities
- But girl who filmed it said the student was protecting her sister from another girl
- De Los Santos is now on paid administrative leave
Students lash out on Twitter
Tomiko: It makes me nauseous just watching it. Nothing she did could have deserved that
Fuquay Varina: Whatever officer this is you need to check him! I do not care what she did but all of that was UNNECESSARY.
Mykea Fayee:âu00c2u0080u00c2u0088Completely unnecessary. This isn’t an ordinary behaviour.
Some support the cop
Anthony E @GTsCewer: @ACLU_NC @ShannonDingle she was probably being an unruly bitch. These people need discipline or they end up in jail.
Melissa Phillips @Tater424: Don't blame the officer for doing his JOB. she should not have put him in that position. Blame her
Similar incidents
katymc @katymc: @ACLU_NC This same officer has had incidents of pepper spraying students last year.
Last year, an officer, Ben Fields, was fired in October after the grainy cell phone footage showing him roughly tossing a student across a classroom of the incident went viral. However, he didn’t face any criminal charges. "I wanted to throw up," Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott said at the time after watching video of the incident, according to Buzzfeed. "It just makes you sick to your stomach."
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