Charges were dropped Wednesday morning against a West Side Chicago student accused of attacking two officers last week, forcing them to deploy tasers on her, authorities said.
The 16-year-old student told NBC 5 on Friday that cell phone video, which only captured a portion of the incident, proves the officers used excessive force.
On Tuesday morning at Marshall High School, 11th-grader Dnigma Howard said she was tased three times by two Chicago police officers.
Cellphone video was captured by another student after police said Howard and an officer fell down a flight of stairs when they tried to escort her out of the building.
"He forcibly put his hand, like pushed me toward the stairs, causing me to fall down the stairs," Howard told NBC 5. "Which I reacted by pulling his vest."
The student was charged with two counts of aggravated battery against the officers who were transported to the hospital after the altercation with the student. Those charged have been dropped a little more than a week later.
Both the student and her father said they believe the officers could have handled the incident differently.
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In the video Howard is seen kicking one of the officers.
Police said she also bit and punched them, sending both to the hospital with multiple injuries.
Howard, seen with a visible injury on her face, was also sent to the hospital. She said it started when she refused to give up her cell phone to the school’s assistant principal.
"If they escorted me out the school the right way with handcuffs or something, I would have went," Howard said. "But you tried to push me down the stairs."
Howard’s father, Laurentio, stood by her in juvenile court Friday as a judge demanded she wear an electronic monitoring device and stay away from the school for at least two weeks.
"It’s their word against our word," he said. "So, right now, I’m glad we have part of the video."
In a statement, Chicago Public Schools called the incident disturbing.
"CPS strives to create safe and supportive learning environments for all students, and this disturbing incident has absolutely no place in our schools," spokesman Michael Passman said in a statement. "To ensure a thorough review of this situation is conducted, we are asking the district's Office of Inspector General to review the matter and we will fully support an investigation by the City's Civilian Office of Police Accountability."
Chicago police would only provide details of the incident, opting not to comment further.
