White school security officers violently subduing a 15-year old Black teen girl
Hazleton, PA — Hazleton Area High School in Pennsylvania is under fire because of a disturbing viral video of their security personnel violently kicking and punching a Black female student, who is reportedly only 15-years old!
In the video taken by another student, one female student was being restrained by at least four uniformed white security officers in the high school cafeteria. One of the officers appeared to be punching and kicking her in the legs while another was grabbing her by the hair and forcing her head onto the table.
Other students in the cafeteria can be heard yelling for the officers to stop and let her go.
The incident was reportedly sparked by an argument between two female students that quickly escalated to a fever pitch of violence.
Questions have been raised about how excessive force was used on the 15-year old female student.
However, the school district Superintendent Brian Uplinger is urging parents to wait until all the details are laid out before making a negative conclusion about the security officers’ behavior as he claimed that there are “always two sides to every story,” as he said in a statement.
Moreover, school district Police Chief Ed Harry defended the officers’ use of excessive force and said it was just appropriate at the moment.
“At that point, the officer had to get that under control immediately,” Chief Harry told WBRE. “You can see from the snippet of video there were hundreds of kids in the cafeteria and they were cheering her on yelling and cheering her on. They needed to deescalate that.”
Investigations about the incident are still ongoing, but Uplinger has already confirmed that at least four students will be expelled from the school because of the brawl and three other separate brawls.
Watch the raw footage below: