Florida cop under fire for attacking and body slamming 11-year-old student on video
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A Florida cop was caught on video body slamming an 11-year-old boy on the school’s campus.
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The video of the brutal assault on a Lincoln Park Academy sixth grader by a St. Lucie Sheriff’s deputy Diederech Hueck went viral after the officer was seen running after the student, lifting him into the air, and then throwing him onto the pavement, WPTV reports.
Another student filmed the horrific episode while on a school bus.
The child’s grandfather said he was taken to a hospital and released with minor injuries and is now being evaluated by a mental health professional, WPTV reports.
The incident, however, has caused concern among parents about the use of violent force by the officer.
The deputy claims the student refused to follow his commands and “continued walking with his fist clenched and had an agitated expression on his face. His brows were turned down and he was punching his fist into the palm of his hand.”
He said when he reached for the student, he turned and ran away and said the student “continued pulling away, twisting and turning his body.”
Hueck “spun to the left and forced the student to the ground,” according to the incident report.
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Police officials said Hueck’s actions were justified because the student had been “running around the school campus and not responding to any commands by the school staff.”
Police officials are defending the officer’s actions, saying the boy has a troubled past.
“Our school resource deputy is very familiar with this student and knows he has a violent history, including possessing weapons,” Sheriff Ken Mascara said in a Wednesday press conference.
“At the end of the day the deputy did everything he could to diffuse the situation, and his use of force fell within the legal and our agency guidelines.”
The Assistant Principal reportedly asked the deputy to follow the student after he left the Dean’s office defiantly and refused to wait for a parent to arrive so he could be served a suspension, the outlet reports.
