Screengrab via Twitter
The brutal arrest of a student in Kentucky by local police was captured on video by shocked students. The incident occurred at Jefferstown High School, 12 miles east of Louisville in Kentucky. The video clip was spread around on November 1, the same day of the arrest, notably by columnist Shaun King:
The clip shows officers tackling a student while others look on, some recording on their phones. At the end, the student is tased. In a statement to WAVE3, Jefferson County Public Schools said:
Around 1 p.m., Jeffersontown High’s school resource officer (SRO) intervened in a fight between two students in the cafeteria. One of those students attempted to fight the SRO, which prompted him to request assistance from Jeffersontown Police.
As the SRO led the student out of school, the student’s brother, accompanied by several other students, then escalated a fight with another police officer – resulting in that officer deploying a taser on the student.
School leaders are in the process of reviewing school security footage to determine every student involved in this afternoon’s incident, and those students will be disciplined according to JCPS policies.
Jeffersontown Police Chief Ken Hatmaker told WDRB that there is a video version that shows officers being attacked first. The station notes that they haven’t seen that video yet. Hatmaker said, “I saw my officer attacked, hit in the head.” Hatmaker added that one student “cold-cocked” an officer. The chief continued, “This was a quick and appropriate response by police to gain control of the situation. My officers were outnumbered. I want the whole story out there.”
After posting the video, original tweeter Drilla the Cable Guy wrote, “I knew the world was a f***** up place, but when you experience it first hand thru these responses I’ve received… This s*** terrifying.” One person, Ryan Brinley, tweeted at Drilla saying, “Follow the rules and this doesn’t happen simple everyone always trying to push limits now days.” Brinley later followed up with, “Can’t be mad at my opinion simply follow the rules and this doesn’t happen.”
According to the school’s official website, there are close to 1,400 students at Jeffersontown. The principal is Matthew Kingsley. The school has an active United States Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps program.
In March 2016, a video surfaced on social media showing a fight at the school. Principal Kingsley told parents are the time, according to WDRB, “The worst part for me is the fact that our students and yourselves do not feel safe in our building. This is not what J-town High School is and I’m not going to let this horrible perception continue any longer.”