A school resource officer at Proviso West High School in Hillside was arrested for assault Friday after video showed him throwing a student against a whiteboard and restraining him to the ground, according to school district officials.
The incident transpired when the officer, who has yet to be identified, entered a classroom and confronted a student, according to a news release from Supt. James Henderson of Proviso Township High Schools District 209.
The officer "made demands of the student," proceeded to grab him, throw the student against a whiteboard and then restrain him.
Henderson called the officer's actions "an unprompted assault on a child who was not a threat to himself or anyone else.
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"He was not combative, and he was not engaging in any disruptive behavior," the schools' chief said.
The superintendent directed school staff to contact authorities, and the school resource officer was taken into custody, district officials said.
In the news release, Henderson said he won't tolerate such treatment of students, stating he was upset by what transpired.
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"No adult should ever put their hands on a child in that manner – especially not in a school setting," he said. "The behavior exhibited by the SRO is consistent with what we see flash across our TV screens almost daily – with Black and Brown young men being targets of police officers. Our scholars deserve better than that and we will do everything in our power to protect them.”
