Hamilton County Schools leaders are reviewing how school officials handled an incident involving a student who was later arrested at Dalewood Middle School on Monday.
Videos show a female student being restrained on the ground by at least one administrator and a uniformed law enforcement officer.
Multiple videos are making rounds on social media, but it is unclear if they depict the entire incident. Another video shows multiple law enforcement officers surrounding the female student outside of a Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office patrol car.
“The school resource officer assigned to the school was requested to assist with a disorderly juvenile student by school personnel,” Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Matt Lea said in an email Wednesday.
“The student became physically violent with school personnel and the SRO[School Resource Officer] stepped in to intervene. The level of resistance was great enough that assistance from CPD Patrol was requested by the SRO,” Lea added.
Once the student was detained, an ambulance was called, Lea said, and the student was transported to a local hospital, treated and released.
She was then processed at the juvenile detention unit and charged with simple assault, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.
The SRO was also treated at a hospital, Lea said.
Community members began to speak out on social media after the video first appeared earlier this week. Many were outraged by what they felt was an example of the disparities between how white students and students of color are treated by school officials and law enforcement.
“This video unfortunately underscores the need for deliberate action to ensure that student safety is the first priority,” said Jonas Barriere, executive director of UnifiEd, a local education advocacy nonprofit, in a statement. “The community has repeatedly called for substantive changes that address the inequities inherent in school discipline policies, for enacting restorative justice practices, and for the hiring of additional school counselors to ensure students receive the support they need. While the school system has taken steps to address these issues, we urge leaders across Hamilton County to heed calls from the community to prioritize this work.”
In a Wednesday statement, Hamilton County Schools spokesman Tim Hensley said: “Once law enforcement arrives on the scene or on campus in a situation where assistance is needed, the officer is in control of the situation. The school district assists as needed with our law enforcement partners.”
Hensley said the incident was being reviewed by Jill Levine, chief of the Opportunity Zone, which encompasses Dalewood Middle. Levine also requested that the district’s Human Resources department review the actions of the administrator or administrators involved.
Hensley also informed the Times Free Press that the district “uses CPI (Crisis Prevention and Intervention) training to deal with issues of disruptions, verbal acting out and physical acting out.”
School officials would not provide additional details about the incident or review process.
Contact staff writer Meghan Mangrum at mmangrum@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6592. Follow her on Twitter @memangrum.