The Fairfield Police Department released bodycam footage of an officer striking a student following a physical altercation at a school in Fairfield, California, on Wednesday, May 20.
In a statement, the department said it was “committed to transparency” and released this bodycam footage after becoming aware of a video circulating online of the female officer “using force against a student.”
According to the statement, a Fairfield Police Officer assisting as a School Resource Officer at Fairfield High School responded to a physical altercation involving multiple students on campus just after 12:30 pm. “During the altercation, a student physically fought a school official who was attempting to break up the fight. The officer immediately requested emergency assistance while he was attempting to stop the fight,” it said.
“The officer observed one involved student attempting to retrieve an item from a backpack during the fight. The officer believed the student was retrieving a weapon and immediately confiscated two backpacks and provided them to school staff, who secured the backpacks in the school office.The officer then escorted one of the students involved in the fight to the school office. A large crowd followed the officer, including several students who were actively trying to fight the student the officer had detained. Once the officer placed the student in the office, he contacted a second student who was continuing to try to fight. The student refused to listen to the officer and ran into a large group of students, where additional physical fights were occurring.
“The officer was able to locate the second student and attempted to detain him. The suspect hit the officer to avoid being detained. The officer grabbed the second student’s arms and escorted him towards the school office. During this time, the second student continued to pull away from the officer. At this time, additional officers arrived at the school to assist. The second student then quickly pulled away from the officer and turned towards the officer. As the second student was displaying aggressive behaviors and had already struck the officer, the officer performed a takedown technique to place the second student on the ground. As officers worked together to control his movements, the second student continued to resist being placed in handcuffs.
“The second student placed his hands over his head and covered his face. An officer grabbed his wrist and tried to place his hand behind his back. The second student tensed his arms, and the officer was unable to overcome his resistance. The officer administered a distraction strike to the second student’s hands. The officer tried again to pull his arm behind his back but was still not able to overcome his resistance. The officer applied additional distraction strikes, which resulted in the second student complying and placing his hands behind his back. The second student was subsequently arrested.”
Two bodycam angles in the footage show the officer punching the student as she attempted to put him in handcuffs, with the assistance of another officer. Credit: Fairfield Police Department via Storyful