Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Monday, October 14, 2024 79° Today's Paper


Top News

Police officer who slammed NC student to the ground placed on leave

ROLESVILLE, N.C. >> A Rolesville police officer has been placed on administrative leave after a video was posted Tuesday on Twitter showing him slamming a female student to the floor.

The eight-second video shows Officer Ruben De Los Santos lifting the student into the air and dropping her to the floor before leading her away from a crowd of students at Rolesville High School. De Los Santos, the school resource officer assigned to the high school, is on paid administrative leave, said Rolesville Mayor Frank Eagles.

Wake County school officials said they’re investigating the situation. It’s unclear when the incident occurred.

On Tuesday afternoon, school officials announced that a message would be sent to Rolesville High School families.

“The video does raise questions,” said Lisa Luten, a Wake County schools spokeswoman. “We are working with the Rolesville Police Department to discover what happened.”

The American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina said Tuesday it is also investigating.

“We’re very disturbed by what we saw in the video,” said Irena Como, staff attorney for the group. “This kind of force, especially with kids in schools, is never justified.”

Police Chief Bobby Langston said he is reviewing the case and will interview staff. Eagles said he also planned to review the Twitter video. He said there is body-camera footage because the Rolesville Police Department announced in August that all officers would be issued a body camera.

Details about the altercation were not immediately provided by authorities.

Ahunna Apkuda, a Rolesville High student whose tweet about the video has gone viral, wrote online that the student was trying to defend her sister who was fighting with another girl.

“Then the cop came outta nowhere,” Apkuda tweeted.

Apkuda tweeted that the student has a few minor injuries “but nothing extremely serious.”

Tanya Pearson, the parent of a sophomore at Rolesville High, said she was “shocked and disgusted” by the incident.

Pearson said she first learned about the situation when her daughter texted her about it. She said she had not heard from school administrators.

“As a concerned parent, a heads-up would have been nice, or some type of call,” she said.

Other videos showing confrontations between police officers and students in schools have generated national attention.

A 2015 video of a South Carolina sheriff’s deputy tossing a student from her desk went viral, resulting in the officer being fired.

Leave a Reply