CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. – Coral Springs police are standing behind their officer after a viral video showed him punching a 14-year-old girl who police say was acting aggressively and resisting arrest.
The incident took place Thursday, and cellphone video of the arrest has gone viral across social media.
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Officers were called to Coral Square Mall about a group of unruly teens who had been harassing patrons and causing a disturbance, WPLG reported.
According to police, one of the girls in the group struck another teenager, and mall security asked police to issue trespassing warnings, barring the teens from the mall.
The teens reportedly left the mall following the first run-in with police but returned a short time later.
One of the male teens was arrested without incident, at which time the 14-year-old girl began cursing and attempting to incite the other teens, according to WPLG.
The 14-year-old began fighting police and resisted arrest when the officers tried to take her into custody, police said.
"That officer's actions were 100 percent within policy, legal and were not excessive," said Deputy Chief Brad McKeon, of the Coral Springs Police Department.
The girl's mother has hired an attorney.
Watch the video below:
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Read the full report of this incident on KSAT’s sister station WPLG.