Officials are investigating after video footage emerged showing a San Antonio school officer body-slamming 12-year-old Janissa Valdez to the ground.
In the video Officer Joshua Kehm struggles with the sixth-grader for a moment before picking her up and throwing her down. She lays motionless as she is handcuffed and then led away from the scene. The initially rowdy crowd of students grows silent and bystanders can be heard asking if the girl is okay.
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The girl’s mother, Gloria Valdez says she is furious over the video and the officer’s actions were completely uncalled for. “Supposedly he was threatened by her that she kicked him, but in the video her legs never went up,” Valdez said.
“You could actually hear her head hit the concrete. That’s what hurt me the most,” she continues. “And he didn’t even seem like it bothered him. And he still handcuffed her after she was unconscious.”
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Janissa told reporters that she had been talking with another female student at Rhodes Middle School when a crowd surrounded them and the officer grabbed her.
Some students reported to KSAT 12 that the officer was initially listening to the girls and trying to break up the verbal confrontation peacefully. The group said they saw the officer get kicked several times.
Janissa denies kicking him.
“It hurt me really bad that a grown man could do that to a little girl. I want to confront the officer, but thought it would be better to do everything legally,” said Raul Valdez, Janissa’s father.
Janissa has been suspended from school for two days for the March 29th incident and has yet to return, reportedly fearing criticism from classmates.
Officer Kehm has since been placed on administrative leave while the San Antonio Independent School District investigates the incident. According to his LinkedIn page, he previously served in the U.S. Air Force before joining the school district.
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