The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office launched an investigation after a haunting video circulated on the internet showing a school resource officer using excessive force on a Black female student at Liberty High School in Liberty, Florida.

The incident reportedly took place on Tuesday when a school resource office threw the student to the ground. Footage filmed by other students shows the second where the teen goes limp from the impact after her head hits the ground.

The deputy can then be seen straddling the student while pulling her arms behind her back, placing her in handcuffs as she lays unconscious on the ground.

According to WESH, the officer was removed from the campus until a decision is made at the investigation’s conclusion. They have opted to withhold the name of the SRO. Investigators are also asking witnesses to send in more footage hoping to collect more details.

In a statement released after the incident, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office stated the SRO was attempting to break up a fight between students in the hallway.

“We know that the School Resource Officer was in the process of trying to stop the student from fighting another student in the hallway when the deputy took her into custody. Once we receive more information related to the incident, we will provide an updated press release.”

The statement noticeably does not address the condition of the student.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, the Osceola County Sherriff’s Office allows use of force “in situations when the person has not responded to verbal commands, including in cases of self-defense, when defending someone or when there is a ‘credible threat to public safety.’”

The case harkens back to the triggering moment when a South Carolina Spring Valley High School resource officer flipped a black teen during a confrontation in the classroom. The incident garnered national attention regarding how Black students, particularly Black girls are treated in school. The SRO faced no charges after an investigation was launched into the incident.

Black girls are subjugated to adultification, a practice where they are perceived to be older and more mature than they actually are. It opens them up to harsher treatment, where they are often punished and disciplined more severely than their counterparts.

A 2020 New York Times report which surveyed information from the Department of Education found that “Black girls are over five times more likely than white girls to be suspended at least once from school, seven times more likely to receive multiple out-of-school suspensions than white girls and three times more likely to receive referrals to law enforcement.”

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