A Wake County, N.C., grand jury has declined to charge a Rolesville (N.C.) High School resource officer who was seen on video slamming a 15-year-old student to the ground.
According to WTVD, Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman said that her office sent presentments to the Wake County grand jury for willful failure to discharge duties and assault on a female, but the grand jury dismissed the issue. Freeman said that the matter will now be considered closed, with no further action.
“Our law-enforcement officers are engaged daily in difficult interactions where they often are required to intervene. As they strive to maintain the peace and protect our community, it’s important that proper and legal boundaries on the use of force are followed,” the district attorney said. “I commend Chief of Police Bobby Langston for his willingness to invite an unbiased review of this matter and for his commitment to maintaining the public trust of his community.”
The resource officer in question, Ruben De Los Santos, resigned from the Rolesville Police Department earlier this month, according to the news station.
The original eight-second video of the incident shows a group of high school students crowded together before the officer picks up the girl and then slams her on the ground as she goes limp. After the incident, the teen was returned to her class but afterward had to be taken to the hospital to treat a concussion, the news station notes.
Read more at WTVD.