A Miami-Dade Schools student and her mother are speaking out against a security officer whom they say took things wayyy too far after breaking up a fight.
Miami Edison Senior High School officers responded to the football field following a game Wednesday after receiving a report of a fight near the locker rooms, per Local 10 News. Ikeria Tate, 15, was captured on bystander video in a scuffle with an officer.
In the video, obtained by Local 10, the officer swings the girl in the air and slams her hard on the ground on her back. When she tries to get up, the officer is seen grabbing her by her braids in an attempt to detain her. The girl’s arms flailed about as she tried to free herself from the officer’s grip. The video ends when another officer and other bystanders surround the two.
An arrest report says Ikeria was not part of the initial fight that broke out but tried to intervene when the officers responded to the scuffle. The report alleges she tried to punch one officer in the face, but Ikeria denies that claim.
“He should’ve never (done) that. He had grabbed me and slammed me on the floor and one of them stepped on my hair,” said the teen to local Miami news. “I wasn’t throwing a punch at him. I was telling him to get off me.”
Despite her claims of attempting to de-escalate the situation, the teen was arrested and charged with battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest and disrupting a school function, the report says. Tate’s mother, Monique Warner, saw the video of the incident and stands behind her daughter, insisting the officer could’ve used less aggression in restraining her.
“He shouldn’t put his hands on nobody’s kids like that. You are supposed to help them. This is why the kids are scared of the law,” Warner said via Local 10 News.
The school police department is reviewing the incident. As of now, there is no information as to whether the officer involved will face disciplinary action, according to the report.