San Bernardino school police officer kneels on student’s neck after ‘peaceful protest’ turns violent
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Video and photos of an anti-racism protest turned violent at a Southern California high school show a school security officer kneeling on a student’s neck.
The incident took place Tuesday at around 11:30 am at Indian Springs High School in San Bernardino during a scheduled ‘peaceful protest’ involving students.
According to school officials, the group turned ‘unruly’ and refused faculty requests to return to classes, prompting a security officer to pepper spray the group.
The video shows the moment an unidentified teacher struggles with a student outside a classroom as security officers wait and other students try to break up the altercation.
Students were holding a “peaceful walkout” at the high school over calls to remove “racist staff and educators,” according to a post by one of the organizers.
Video and photos purportedly from an anti-racism protest that turned violent at a Southern California high school show a school security officer kneeling on a student’s neck.
This is the unidentified teacher struggling with a student outside the classroom as security officers wait and other students try to break up the altercation.
‘My personal encounters with him [the teacher] they have included verbal attacks, sexual harassment, discrimination based on race and religion, bullying, as well as pushing political beliefs with consequences if not followed,’ said Gyhana Woods, a student.
Woods said she and a friend made plans for the protest over ignored reports to school administrators about everything from discrimination to verbal assault and discrimination.
Woods in his post alleged that the protest only turned violent after the unnamed staff member in the video attacked a student.
“The protest turned violent after one of our employees assaulted a student,” Woods wrote.
“From there, another 4 innocent arrests were made, as well as a whole group of KIDS who were pepper sprayed without medical attention,” he said.
The student said most of the students were able to stay ‘on the right track’ even after the altercations involving the teacher and the pepper spray incident.
Woods included numerous photos and videos from Tuesday’s walkout, saying they serve as evidence of the peaceful nature of the students and how violent things turned.
In one of the videos, a student can be heard speaking to the crowd, advocating for the group to use their voices and fight ‘racist’ teachers.
Another image allegedly shows a school security guard kneeling on a student’s neck. Neither the student nor the officer have been identified.
‘This story still deserves to be heard to reach children facing these same struggles. I hope we all find peace and realize that by the grace of God our fight continues to finish our message,’ Woods continued.
‘School should be a safe space, not a battlefield,’ he wrote.
This is the post made by student Gyhana Woods, sharing her side of the story.
Another angle of the moment students are approached by school security officers at Indian Springs High School in San Bernardino
This is Indian Springs High School in San Bernardino, California, where a ‘peaceful protest’ turned violent Tuesday afternoon.
Another video posted on social media shows the moment a student gets into an altercation with a teacher while security agents wait.
The pair argue back and forth before the teen appears to push the phone away from the teacher, prompting the adult to put up his hands.
Other kids then jump in and it’s unclear if they’re trying to get in on the action or break up the fight.
The security guards seen in the first seconds stand behind the educator.
Another angle of video shows the moment pepper spray was deployed during the fight between the students and the teacher.
In that clip, posted to Instagram by Everything San Bernardino, a teenager is accosted by a security guard as the crowd yells.
The videos have now sparked outrage from the community, both on the side of the students and in support of the security officer’s actions.
In all, school district officials said two students were sent to the health room for examination and no other injuries were reported.
The high school was placed in a state of security and hold for just over an hour until 12:30 p.m., when authorities reassessed the situation and deemed there were no additional security concerns.
District representatives said KTLA they planned to bring in additional staff and police officers on Wednesday.
The officials also said they are looking into the allegations made against the teacher who sparked the protest.
This is the moment an altercation broke out between a teacher and a student at San Bernardino High School Tuesday during a protest.
The pair argue back and forth before the student appears to push the phone away from the teacher or faculty members, prompting the adult to raise his hands.
Another view of the altercation between the student and the teacher in the secondary school
DailyMail.com contacted the San Bernardino Police Department, who confirmed that the matter is being resolved internally within the district and the School Police Department.
In a statement to local media outlets, Maria Garcia, Communications Officer for the San Bernardino Unified School District, said they are working with students and staff.
“We have plans to give students opportunities to dialogue with each other and with staff so they can express their views in a way that is constructive and conducive to greater understanding,” Garcia said.
“We discourage students from participating in non-peaceful protests because they disrupt teaching and learning and can have unintended negative consequences,” he continued.