Disturbing Video Shows What Public School Looks Like in a Police State as a Cop Beats a Student

The Free Thought Project | The Free Thought Project

Published on March 3, 2016

by Matt Agorist

Baltimore, MD — An extremely disturbing video was posted to social media this week showing a Baltimore school cop, whose identity is being protected, treating a student like a punching bag.

In the brief video, the officer is seen throwing punches and kicking the student.

The assault happened Tuesday at the Reach! Partnership School in Baltimore and both officers in the video have been placed on administrative leave, said Karen Parks, spokeswoman for the Baltimore public school system.

“As a parent of a Baltimore city school student, I was appalled by what I saw,” Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake said of the video. “The behavior that was demonstrated … is certainly something you never want to see. … Certainly not a school officer acting in this way, particularly with a young person.”

Baltimore School Police Chief Marshall Goodwin was also placed on paid administrative leave pending an investigation, which is an out of the ordinary move.

“The boy had a right to be at the school where he was an enrolled student,” Lauren Geisser, an attorney for the teen and his parents said. “With respect to refusing to leave the school, the student didn’t want to leave the school where he had a right to attend.”

“I am completely appalled and disappointed by what is depicted in the video,” the school system’s CEO, Gregory Thornton, said in the statement. “Our school police officers are entrusted with ensuring the safety of our students and staff, and I know that most of them take this job seriously while maintaining a high level of professionalism. The behavior in the video is completely unacceptable.”

Recent videos have revealed a myriad of school cops attacking unarmed students. In December, Officer Rigo Valles was cleared of any wrongdoing after grabbing a student by the neck and slamming him to the floor. In October, Richland County Deputy Ben Fields was fired after students recorded him flipping over a girl’s desk and dragging her across the floor. Oklahoma City Master Sgt. Thomas Jaha was charged with assault and battery in October as well, after repeatedly punching a student in the face for not having a hall pass.

In November, prosecutors agreed to dismiss assault charges against Louisville Metro Police Officer Jonathan Hardin for punching a student in the face if the former officer completes anger management classes. Hardin still faces wanton endangerment, official misconduct, and assault charges for choking another student unconscious in a separate incident five days later. In separate incidents earlier this year, school cops have also been caught attacking an autistic boy, body-slamming a child, and raping nearly two dozen students.

This is education in a police state.