Florida high school students want officer fired after body-slamming teen
Students at Liberty High School want officer Ethan Fournier fired or at least permanently removed from their campus.
Students and families allegedly look to transfer out of the Florida high school where a police officer body-slammed a teenage girl onto a concrete ground.
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TMZ reported the students want Officer Ethan Fournier fired from his job as a school officer or permanently removed from Liberty High School after the violent incident went viral. According to the report, the student body no longer feels safe around campus cops and no longer trust the appointed officers to protect them.
A senior, Trey’vion Telfair, informed TMZ, his opinion swiftly changed of Fournier. The outlet reported the teenager once believed the officer was a “good guy.” He also shared how Fournier participated in seminars on police brutality and stood with Liberty’s Black Student Union.
Another student, junior Daijah Watts, shared similar thoughts. She, however, recalled one incident in the past where he went too far. According to the outlet, both students believe his previous solidarity was all an act.
Watts shared with TMZ she allegedly witnessed Fournier use pepper spray on a group of kids who were fighting around two years ago. She believes the entire department is suspicious in its treatment of students. The high school has offered mental health resources for their students and teachers with school psychologists, counselors, and social workers available to people who need to talk. According to TMZ, the Osceola County School District has also offered the girl in the video and family professional services.
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theGrio reported the white school resource officer was captured on video tackling a Black girl who was made unconscious by the attack. In the video, he threw her to the ground and kneels beside her, placing her in handcuffs as she does not move. The video was shared by students and caught the attention of celebrities such as Ava Duvernay.
She tweeted “Does anyone have info about the men who brutalized her? Who took her down so hard that the sound of her skull hitting the concrete rings in our ears. Rage rising in our chests,” and shared the footage on her large platform.
According to WFTV 9 ABC, the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office has turned over the investigation of the incident to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Sheriff Marcos Lopez said in a news conference Wednesday the FDLE will decide whether or not criminal charges should be filed against the school officer. He denied the department was “looking out for our own,” the station reported.
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