Officer Resigns After Being Filmed Slamming 11-Year-Old Girl To Ground

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Huffington Post

10/24/2019 02:13 pm ET


The New Mexico police officer accused the girl of assaulting a school administrator. “This proved not to be true,” his police chief later said.

By Nina Golgowski


A New Mexico police officer is off the force after body camera footage captured him slamming an 11-year-old girl to the ground while ignoring school officials’ commands to release her.

Farmington police officer Zachary Christensen resigned after bodycam footage taken on Aug. 27 showed him wrestling the sobbing girl after she was accused of being disruptive at her middle school, including taking extra milk from the cafeteria.

The officer had been assisting school administrators in trying to get her to cooperate when she appeared to push past a man identified as the school principal, prompting assault allegations by Christensen, the video shows.

“OK, I’ve had enough of this. Take your bag off. You’re done. You are done. ... You’re not going to assault the principal,” he’s heard telling her before pushing her into a brick wall and then to the ground.


Read more: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/cop-out-after-aggressive-student-arrest_n_5db1afece4b0d5b789473f62

[Lonestarblue]

1. We need to rethink the use of police officers in schools.

They are trained to control adults, not children, and far too many of these resource officers have behaved brutally. If schools need help with students’ behavioral issues, they should hire staff trained to deal with children's issues, not police trained to attack criminals.

[cstanleytech]

4. It's not the issue of using police in the schools it's combination

hiring people as police officers that should never be hired, a lack of training and not choosing the right police officers for the right job.
By that I simply mean some are bound to be better at handling children than others and some are better at doing stuff like traffic patrol it's simple logic.

[Initech]

6. Conservatives want to go the other way and have more police in schools.

Shit they want armed volunteer Oath Keeper assholes patrolling school hallways and teachers with guns. Argh!

[olddad65]

2. Resigning isn't enough. He committed an assault. He needs to be arrested.

[Ohiogal]

3. I agree

with both of you, olddad65 and Lonestarblue.

[johndaly]

5. Hello.

This is my first post. I wish to add that the officer physically assaulted a minor. If anyone else had done it, I can only imagine they would be prosecuted. I never raised a finger to my kids...they turned out fine just by teaching them to be respectful and thankful and polite. Maybe we need to make time for that, instead of relying on stressed out Paul Blarts?

[eggplant]

7. Welcome to DU!

[Aristus]

8. Welcome to DU.

[gopiscrap]

10. welcome to DU

[Canoe52]

11. Welcome to DU!

[kimbutgar]

9. This made me so sick

My son with autism was once slammed down By an aide. He was traumatized for a long time. I feel so sorry for this little girl. She will never trust a police officer again and will feel terrorized whenever she sees someone in a law enforcement uniform.

I work around kids with autism and restraint is the laws resort is they are trying to hurt themselves or see one else. She clearly was upset and someone with a calm voice should have talked with her.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

12. As well he should

But I fear he'll get a job with some other police force

[sl8]

13. "She was very strong, stronger than I was."

From Vox article, https://www.vox.com/identities/2019/10/24/20929397/police-officer-excessive-force-school-11-year-old-girl-new-mexico

[...]

But it was when the girl opens a door that the school principal is standing in front of, brushing against him in the process, that the officer approaches her and begins to use force, claiming that the girl had committed assault as she moved past. Christensen also claimed that the student assaulted him during the encounter, writing in an incident report that “She was very strong, stronger than I was.”

[...]

[Luciferous]

14. Really, he isn't stronger than an 11 year old girl?

he should be charged with assaulting a minor.

[skypilot]

15. She's black...

...and everyone knows that we black people are bigger and stronger and scarier than everyone else.