SAN ANTONIO – Some parents of students at Ed Rawlinson Middle School are upset and worried after a video of a campus police officer slamming a sixth-grader to the ground began circulating on social media.
"Oh, my gosh. It's just like my heart just sank because I've seen that cop here before. And knowing that he actually has done that to a child, I'm, like, 'No, that's just wrong,'" said Myra Yebra, whose son is a seventh-grader at Rawlinson.
The Northside Independent School District police officer was breaking up a fight between two sixth-grade boys Monday during a lunch period, district spokesman Barry Perez said.
A video posted to Facebook on Tuesday afternoon shows the officer grab one of the boys and throw him facedown on the ground as the student's feet fly up behind. The officer then hauls the boy up by his shirt and walks him away before the video stops.
READ MORE: Video appears to show NISD officer slamming student to ground following fight
The officer's tactics concerned some parents who were waiting Thursday afternoon to pick up their children at Rawlinson.
"I mean, that was uncalled for," said Kim Arroyos. "He didn't have to slam him on the ground."
Yebra said, "Now that seeing he has done that to a child, like, what kind of people do they have working here now?"
Others are worried as well.
"Without a doubt, seeing this video is alarming," Perez said. "Seeing that video, seeing the officer's actions, seeing the force that was used is alarming and certainly raises flags for us."
The officer is on administrative leave pending a full investigation by the NISD Police Department and human resources, and Child Protective Services has also been notified, Perez said.
The district is not releasing the officer's name because the investigation is ongoing, but Perez said the officer has had no disciplinary issues since he began with NISD police in 2006.
The video did not concern every parent.
"That's how you control fights. Because you got to get a kid, you got to control them. There's just one of him. He couldn't grab both kids. He did exactly what he needed to do," said Richard Cuellar.
Others, such as Cari O'Dell, seemed unwilling to pass judgment.
"I wasn't there and I don't know how or what was happening before," she said. "It's a hard job to be with this age group of kids."
