Download report
Fill out the form below and we will send a download link to your email.Thank You!
We'll be in touch shortly.We came to learn
A CALL TO ACTION FOR POLICE-FREE SCHOOLSSCROLL DOWN TO LEARN MORE
Safety does not exist when Black and Brown young people are forced to interact with a system of policing that views them as a threat and not as students.
For many Black and Brown youth, the presence of police in schools disrupts learning environments. There is a culture clash that exists between law enforcement and the learning environment: police enforce criminal laws, while schools are supposed to nurture students.
We Came to Learn addresses the stark reality that police in schools is an issue of American racial disparity that requires deep structural change. We explore the question of why police are in schools at all and conclude that police are incongruent with the educational environment we envision for our children.
The over-policed school atmosphere can initiate, rather than mitigate, misbehavior by increasing anxiety, alienating students, creating a sense of mistrust between peers and forming adversarial relationships with school officials. Every dollar spent on police, metal detectors and surveillance cameras is a dollar that could instead be invested in teachers, guidance counselors, and health professionals that support, not criminalize children.
During the 2015-2016 school year, Black students made up only 15% of the school population, but 31% of students arrested or referred to law enforcement.
While constituting only 17% of public
school enrollment, Black
girls
represent
43% of girls
arrested at school.
42% of high schools in the U.S.
have some sort of school police.
The Department of Justice Office
of Community Oriented Policing
Services
(COPS) has invested
close to $300 million
in school policing infrastructure.
1.6 Million STUDENTS
attend a school with school police, but not a school counselor
Source: 2013-2014 Civil Rights Data Collection, “A First Look: Key Data Highlights on Equity and Opportunity Gaps in Our Nation’s Public Schools.” U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights. (June 7, 2016).
SCHOOL POLICING TIMELINE











#Assaultat map
Our #AssaultAt map charts the countless incidents of students being assaulted by school police in their place of learning. This list and map are ever-growing, but by no means are they exhaustive. This #AssaultAt map reflects numerous assaults captured on video or reported to local or national news outlets. Some even resulted in legal action. It is important to note, however, that there are many other assaults like these taking place regularly that don’t receive the same attention for any number of reasons, including lack of documentation, media bias, and so on. In viewing the #AssaultAt map, it becomes clear why #PoliceFreeSchools are essential to the well-being of our Black and Brown youth. Go To Map#AssaultAtAcademyForLearning
Dolton, ILMarshawn Pitts, a 15-year-old special needs student, was beat by a school police officer for not tucking in his shirt as school dress code and policy requires. The student was confronted in the hallway by the officer and school staff. After walking away, the officer slammed him against the lockers, pinned him on the floor and broke the student’s nose.

#AssaultAtKankakeeJunior
Kankakee, ILTwo federal lawsuits were filed by the parents of two 12-year-old boys who were shocked by a school police officer with a stun gun during an in-school demonstration.
#AssaultAtNorthSide
San Antonio, TXResponding to a minor assault and told to stay with the victim and not search for the suspect by his supervisor, the school resource officer disobeyed the order and ran into the backyard of a Northwest Side home with his gun drawn. Moments later, the officer fired his weapon, killing an unarmed 14-year-old Latinx North Side student.

#AssaultAtSkyline
Oakland, CARaheim Brown was shot and killed by Oakland School Police Sergeant Barhin Bhatt outside of a Skyline High School dance. His crime: attempting to start a car with a screwdriver. Raheim and Tamisha Stewart were parked near the school while the car's hazard lights on. Sgt. Bhatt and his partner Jonathan Bellusa who were on patrol during the school dance, came across Raheim’s vehicle, and engaged in a verbal, then deadly altercation. Sgt. Bhatt shot seven bullets into the car, killing Raheim.

#AssaultAtCummingsMiddle
Brownsville, TXEighth grade Cummings Middle School student Jaime Gonzalez was shot and killed in the hallways of the school after he allegedly refused to drop an air gun he brought to school.
#AssaultAtCliftonHigh
Clifton, NJA video of the incident initially shows Clinton police breaking apart a fight off school grounds. However, it quickly turns to an unidentified officer fighting a 15-year-old, male student. The police officer pushes the student to the ground, punches him in the face as he stands up, grabs him by the neck and briefly puts him in a chokehold. As the student tries to twist away, a plain-clothed police officer appears to knee the student in the head and swing him into a busy street. The officers team up and slam the student into the ground where he is restrained with a knee in his back and handcuffed.

#AssaultAtCedarCreek
Cedar Creek, TXA 17-year-old Texas student spent 52 days in a medically induced coma after police used a Taser on him at school, while he was attempting to break up a fight between two peers. The student fell to the ground, striking his head on the floor, rendering him unconscious. He was then placed in handcuffs. School officials did not immediately call paramedics. When they did, he underwent surgery to repair a severe brain hemorrhage and was placed in a medically induced coma.

#AssaultAtSparkman
Harvest, ALA former Madison County school police officer, Jerome Heard, 44, plead guilty to charges of sodomy and engaging in a sex act with a Sparkman High School student during the 2012-13 school year. Heard was later indicted in January 2016.
#AssaultAtSuitland
Suitland, MDA school police officer was recorded by school security cameras removing his gun belt, placing his weapon on the floor, taking off his bullet-proof vest and kneeling down to pray before punching a 17-year-old student in the face for allegedly possessing.


#AssaultAtCYDI
Chicago, ILAn off-duty Chicago police officer working security at Community Youth Development Institute targeted 17-year-old Aaliyah Russell-Morgan after being late for class. The officer yelled, “If you’re going to act like a boy, I’m going to treat you like a boy.” He then proceeded to wrestle Aaliyah, who is lesbian, down to the ground and beat her. Her brother came to her aid and the police officer kicked his teeth out.

#AssaultAtEnloeHigh
Raleigh, NCFollowing a police assault during a school water balloon fight, eight children, through their parents, filed a complaint in federal court alleging that school police “violently tackled,” pepper-sprayed, handcuffed, interrogated and arrested students on baseless accusations without informing them of their rights or calling parents.


#AssaultAtAbilene
Abilene, TXThree schoolchildren, through their parents, filed a lawsuit in federal court that a Abilene School Resource Officer violently assaulted them on three separate occasions: placed an arm-bar lock on a kindergarten student, a chokehold against a twelve-year old student, and repeatedly slammed a fifteen-year old student.
#AssaultAtHighlandAlternative
Albany, GAA surveillance video revealed a school police officer assaulting a 15-year-old student. The video shows the student walking into a hallway when the school police officer tackled the student into a wall and then body slammed him onto the ground. Then, the school police officer unleashes a barrage of punches to his face and torso. The officer restrains the student by kneeling on his legs and handcuffs him. As a result, the student has two bone fractures



#AssaultAtSouthHouston
Houston, TXCesar Suquet was upset that district officials would not return a confiscated cell phone, so engaged in using profanity. In response, a district school police officer struck Cesar 18 times with a metal nightstick. His parents later took him to a medical clinic for extensive bruises and bleeding on his arm, back, and neck.

#AssaultAtSamHouston
Houston, TXThree school resource officers were recorded aggressively pinning a 10th grade, Latina student to the ground after she refused to give up her cellphone. Ixel Perez was on the phone with her mother when she was sent out of class and approached by her assistant principal who demanded her phone. Ixel refused, walked away, and was approached by three school resource officers. One officer handcuffed her while forcing her legs down by kneeling on them, while another officer pushed her head into the ground with the full force of his knee. Ixel was suspended from school and her cellphone was held until a $15 fine was paid.

#AssaultAtChamberlain
Tampa, FLAfter a report of having pepper spray, two assistant principals confronted Brittany Overstreet in the school lunch room. A school resource officer grabbed Brittany’s ankles and snatched her legs from under her. The officer slammed Brittany against a table and onto the ground, breaking her jaw. No pepper spray was ever found yet Brittany received a 10-day suspension.


#AssaultAtOlmsteadAcademy
Louisville, KYA school resource officer put a 13-year-old student in a chokehold which left him unconscious. The student, who had a friendly relationship with the officer, thought they were playing around. After being pushed by the student, the officer grabbed the student and choked him until the student could “barely breathe and had blurry vision.” The assault was caught on video.

#AssaultAtVanguard
Baltimore, MDA Baltimore City Schools resource officer was caught on video using a baton on three Black girls, sending Diamond McCullum to the hospital with a head gash requiring six stitches; the others for pepper spray exposure. After an altercation between the officer and a female student, two others gathered to intervene.

#AssaultAtWoodlandHills
Allegheny County, PAA school resource officer and principal brutally assaulted Woodland Hills Junior/High School student Ahmad Williams. The officer grabbed Ahmad by his collar, put him into a chokehold and dragged him down the school’s hallway. The officer body slammed Ahmad to the ground and tazed him while the school’s principal held down Ahmad’s head. Ahmad was snatched from the ground by the handcuffs and brought to an office where there were no cameras. He was again assaulted.

#AssaultAtKissimmeMiddle
Kissimmee, FLA school resource officer jabbed his finger in a student’s face before throwing him to the ground and nearly broke the student’s wrist. The assault occurred in the school’s office in front of the 13-year-old student’s mother. The student was arguing with his mother when the officer grabbed him by the shirt, placed him in a wristlock and lifted his body from the floor.


#AssaultAtBartonHill
Los Angeles, CAAndres Munoz’s wrist was broken when a Los Angeles police officer grabbed him, pulled his arm behind his back, and handcuffed him. The 11-year-old’s parents were not notified that their son was handcuffed.

#AssaultAtLatonia
Covington, KYThe ACLU filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of two elementary school children with disabilities, 8 and 9 years old, who were handcuffed and traumatized by a Kenton County sheriff's deputy for behaviors that were manifested by their disabilities. The handcuffs did not fit on the children’s wrist, so they were placed on the children’s biceps, in a painful position.

#AssaultAtCedarGrove
DeKalb County, GAKeturah Hall, 15, was violently arrested and pepper sprayed by a school police officer when she refused to leave her classroom. After students were visibly upset over their weighted assignment grades, the teacher called in the school police officer who, according the lawsuit, grabbed Keturah, slammed her to the ground, placed his knee on her back and pepper-sprayed her as she lay helpless on the floor.
#AssaultAtRoundRock
Austin, TXTwo school police officers confronted a Black Round Rock student, Gyasi Hughes, after a fight in the school cafeteria. The officers cornered Gyasi, who grabbed his backpack as if to leave. As he attempted to move away from the officers, one of the officers grabbed the 14 year old and put his hands on the boy. Gyasi attempted to remove the officer’s hand. At that point, the officer grabbed Gyasi by the throat and slammed him to the ground.

#AssaultAtWilliamTolmanHigh
Pawtucket, RIWhile handcuffing 17-year-old Ivander DeBurgo, a school resource officer was recorded grabbing 14-year-old Tyler DeBurgo by his throat and body slamming him into the ground. According the Pawtucket Police Dept., Tyler approached the SRO from behind, however, the video shows Tyler with his back turned to the SRO. The brothers were suspended for five days. The officer was removed from Tolman, but was cleared of any wrongdoing.
#AssaultAtSpringValley
Columbia, SCShakara, a 14-year-old Black student, was asked to leave a classroom after using her phone during math class. She refused and was later confronted by School Resource Officer Ben Fields who aggressively demanded she leave. Fields grabbed her by the neck, slammed her desk to the floor and dragged her out of the desk. He also arrested another Black female student, Niya Kenny who filmed the assault and attempted to deescalate the situation.


#AssaultAtGrant
Oklahoma City, OKA school resource officer was arrested for assaulting a 16-year-old student. The student was reportedly in the hallway without a pass when the officer confronted him. When the student proceeded to get a drink of water, the officer struck the student twice in the head. The assault was caught on surveillance video.
#AssaultAtParkHigh
Racine, WIRacine Police Officer Brinelle Nabors and another police officer arrested a 14-year-old student for allegedly having a bottle of codeine-based cough syrup and soda. Nabors claimed the student made violent threats and resisted arrest. Nabors punched the student in the face and slammed him against the lockers while the student was in handcuffs. A third Racine police officer, who witnessed the arrest, testified that the student did not resist or threaten police officers. The student suffered injuries to his jaw, the back of his head, neck and left ear. The student faced criminal charges which were subsequently dismissed. More than three years after a school assault, Officer Nabors was found not guilty in 2019 for excessive use of force during the arrest.
#AssaultAtMillardSouth
Omaha, NESchool Resource Officer forced himself between a group of students to stop the fight. Then, without provocation, the officer started punching a by-standing student in the face multiple times. According to the student who posted the video, the student getting punched wasn’t swinging during the fight.
#AssaultAtProgressHigh
Brooklyn, NYCNYPD officer Kareem Phillips was videotaped yelling expletives and striking Yordy Aragonez, an 18-year-old student, twice with a baton while he was on the ground, not resisting. While the NYPD were responding to a series of large fights within the school, Aragonez says he was defending himself from other students when Phillips pushed him into a full classroom.


#AssaultAtSherman
Sherman, TXShatayvian Nelson, 15, was violently slammed to the floor by a school police officer during a fight with another female student. Shatayvian suffered a severe concussion but was never taken to the hospital of allowed to contact her mother.

#AssaultAtFremont
Oakland, CARoberto Canales, 16, asked if he could be released early from school because he was not feeling well. After accusing Roberto of selling drugs, two officers moved Roberto from surveillance camera sight, handcuffed and assaulted him. The student suffered back injuries and was bruised. Two years prior, in the same office, the same camera caught two guards punching and choking a different student.

#AssaultAtREACH
Baltimore, MDA Baltimore school police officer violently slapped and kicked a Black student who was tardy while a second officer watched. REACH Partnership School reported two “intruders” outside of the school. The 16-year-old’s parents said their son was, in fact a student at the school. He suffered injuries to his face and ribs. The police officer was investigated and charged, but ultimately acquitted.


#AssaultAtRhodesMiddle
San Antonio, TXA school resource officer lifted a 12-year-old middle-school student into the air and slammed her to the ground while at lunchtime, knocking her unconscious. As she lied motionless, he handcuffed her.

#AssaultAtBehavior
Las Vegas, NVA Clark County School District police officer was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of using excessive force against a student and staff member. The officer assaulted a female student with his police-issued baton, slammed the student into a hallway wall and threw her to the floor. After the assault, the officer issued a false report of the altercation, accusing the student of being “aggressive, threatening and non-compliant.”
#AssaultAtKnightdale
Knightdale, NCAfter a scuffle between two students, a high school junior was pinned down by a school police officer and tazed. The student was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting an officer.
#AssaultAtGateway
Killeen, TexasDuring an altercation with another student, two Killeen police officers pulled a 15-year-old Gateway High School student from a school bus, picked him off the ground and body slammed him. The medical report stated the student suffered abrasions on his body.
#AssaultAtCassTech
Detroit, MIDetroit School Police responded to reports that a Black female student tried to ride the elevator with an expired elevator pass. The officer pushed the 15-year-old student into a corner in the hallway. The student took out her cell phone and the officer became enraged, slapped the phone from her hands and pushed her into the corner again with so much force that the student’s head appeared to hit the wall where she fell to the floor and cowered in the corner.


#AssaultAtBenFranklin
Philadelphia, PAA Black high school senior and Philadelphia Student Union member, Brian Burney, wanted to use the bathroom but didn’t have a pass. A school resource officer told Brian he couldn’t enter the bathroom and antagonized the student. In frustration, an argument ensued and Brian threw an orange against the wall. The cop retaliated and punched Brian twice in the face, slammed him down and choked him. A fellow student who recorded the incident was told to delete the footage or be at risk of arrest. His phone was taken from him by the officer who deleted the footage, attempting to erase the documentation of the assault.

#AssaultAtCentral
St. Paul, MNA school resource officer pushed a former Central student, who was asked to leave the campus, against a wall and kneed him in the back after taking him to the ground. The officer then sprayed a chemical irritant in the Black teen’s face and arrested him for trespassing.

#AssaultatSherwood
Sandy Spring, MDPolice officer placed a female student into a headlock and then pinned her to the ground at her senior prom. The police officer believed that she and other students had been intoxicated, but reports show that she had not been drinking.
#AssaultAtHoover
Fresno, CAFollowing school dismissal, a 16-year-old Black student was assaulted by a school police officer for jaywalking across the street. The assault was recorded but the student was charged with resisting arrest and jaywalking.



#AssaultAtEdgewood
Columbus, GAA behavioral specialist slammed a student to the floor and injured the 13-year-old boy’s leg so severely that it had to be amputated.
#AssaultAtEstillMiddle
Hampton, SCA school resource officer was found guilty of third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a middle school student and engaging in a lewd act with a minor and misconduct in office.
#AssualtAtHuffman
Birmingham, ALAs punishment for wearing a hat indoors, Black high school student Adam Goodman was assaulted by school resource officer in a locked cafeteria. “I thought we were going to have a normal conversation about the hat but it turned out to be something else,” said the high school junior. “When I turned my back, he punched me in the head and he grabbed me and then start choking me. He threw me on the floor and start kicking me in my back.” The assaulted continued until another officer knocked on the door and alerted the school principal.
#AssaultAtCareerAcademy
Lowell, MAA school resource officer handcuffed a 16-year-old student for alleged possession of marijuana. According to an 87-page report, the officer ordered the room be cleared, and grabbed the 16-year-old student by the neck, struck him in the head, and threatened to pepper spray him.
#AssaultAtUrbanAcademy
Bronx, NYA 14-year-old student was tackled, handcuffed, and tazed by school police officers after she tried to defend herself after months of bullying from other students.
#AssaultAtRolesville
Wake County, NCA school resource police officer body slammed Jasmine Darwin, jerked her limp body up by the arm and dragged her away from surveillance cameras. Jasmine, 15, tried to stop a fight between two students. The officer was placed on paid administrative leave. The student was diagnosed with a concussion and forced to transfer schools.



#AssaultAtArlingtonSchool
Pittsburgh, PAAn officer placed a 12-year-old student in a chokehold and slammed him against the wall for yelling and making “derogatory comments.



#AssaultAtSouthGwinnett
Gwinnett, GADuring an altercation between students, a school police officer used excessive force to pin down a 16-year-old student, leaving him bloodied and unconscious. Three students were charged with disruption of a school.
#AssaultAtNottingham
Syracuse, NYJabari Boykins, who is diagnosed with bipolar disorder, was suspended for refusing to go to class. Upon leaving, the 14-year-old student missed his bus and returned to the school. A school police officer approached the student and the school’s vice principal, who were arguing and inquired about arresting Jabari for trespassing. The police officer shoved and grabbed Jabari by the neck, struck him, raised him in the air and slammed him to the ground. The student suffered a broken left arm.


#AssaultAtWoodlandHills
Allegheny County, PAOn April 3, Steve Shaulis, a Churchill police officer at Woodland Hills High School, assaulted and injured Que’Chawn Wade, a 14-year-old student, after publicly using expletives and derogatory slurs towards him. The offending officer body slammed and repeatedly punched Wade in the head, causing him to lose two teeth and sustain bruises and multiple lacerations to his face and neck.

#AssaultAtHuguenot
Richmond, VATwo parents filed charges after a video was released of their 17-year-old son, Andre “AJ” Nious, who was body slammed by school police officers. A loud scream is heard in the video after a school police officer picked AJ off the floor and slammed his head to the ground. AJ had been in a confrontation with students who had been bullying him.

#AssaultAtGabeAllenElementary
Dallas, TXDallas Independent School District Police responded to a call that 7-year-old Yosio Lopez was banging his head against the wall. The special needs student, diagnosed with ADHD and mood disorder, was choked by his school principal while the police Tasered and handcuffed him. He was taken to Dallas Behavioral Healthcare without his mother’s permission, where he was kept for nearly one week.

#AssaultAtPiedmontGLOBAL
Dallas, TXMere days after the #AssaultAtGabeAllenElementary, a Dallas ISD police officer was caught on camera body slamming 12-year-old Mariana Benton into the ground. The Dallas ISD police officer also pepper sprayed Benton, which prompted medical attention that revealed her fractured clavicle from the forceful impact to the ground.

#AssaultAtSmyrnaWest
Smyrna, TNA school resource officer at Smyrna West Alternative School was caught on video pushing a student against the wall, pepper spraying him and slamming him to the ground – all while he was handcuffed. The officer was charged with assault, perjury, filing a false report and was later fired.
#AssaultAtOrangeHigh
Orange, NJPolice Officer Hanifah Davis was recorded slamming Kyasia Sorrells into a storefront and snatching her twin sister Nyasia to the ground by her hair. While he sat on top of both high school students, the school’s principal tried to intervene and was placed in a headlock.


#AssaultAtEdRawlinsonMiddle
San Antonio, TXParents of a sixth grade student from Ed Rawlinson Middle School were outraged when a video surfaced of a campus police officer body slamming their son after he helped break up a school fight.


#AssaultAtEagleRidge
Phoenix, AZA 10-year-old immigrant student in Phoenix was assaulted by a school police officer hired through the Phoenix Police Department. The student, who is autistic and has an Individualized Education Plan, suffered several injuries, including a dislocated shoulder. He was handcuffed and isolated in the school’s “calm-down” room. The mother, who is undocumented, arrived at the school and found her son handcuffed. She documented it with her cell phone.
#AssaultAtSolisCohen
Philadelphia, PAAn officer forcibly removed 8-year-old Isaac Gardner Jr. from his Solis-Cohen Elementary classroom for refusing to leave his art class. Isaac was taken into a nearby faculty bathroom, shut the door and was thrown to the ground. Isaac reported that the officer also cursed at him and called him names.
#AssaultAtConsumnesOaks
Elk Grove, CADuring an Elk Grove Unified School District school board meeting, Black parents addressed the school board about allegations of racial discrimination and use of excessive force by school police officers. One Consumnes Oaks High School parent testified about her son being lifted in the air, thrown across the vice principal’s office, and consequently arrested.
#AssaultAtJeffersontown
Jeffersontown, KYA student-recorded video that went viral showed three Jeffersontown Police Department officers assaulting a Black student at Jeffersontown High School. In the video, three officers are seen beating, kicking and using their Taser gun while the student was held face down on the floor. Immediately after, the school principal and the police department released statements justifying the police violence experienced and witnessed by students.

#AssaultAtHoechMiddle
St. Ann, MOTwelve-year-old Tyrese Leggitt’s arm was broken in two places after suffering a breakdown in class at Hoech Middle School. Rachel Kozma, Tyrese’s mother, said her son was on medication for oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), making it harder for Tyrese to transition from angry emotions. The school claims the student pushed his teacher against the door as he was attempting to leave the classroom, though his mother said a school resource officer was the cause. Tyrese also faced suspension.

#AssaultAtHoechMiddle
St. Ann, MOTwelve-year-old Tyrese Leggitt’s arm was broken in two places after suffering a breakdown in class at Hoech Middle School. Rachel Kozma, Tyrese’s mother, said her son was on medication for oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), making it harder for Tyrese to transition from angry emotions. The school claims the student pushed his teacher against the door as he was attempting to leave the classroom, though his mother said a school resource officer was the cause. Tyrese also faced suspension.

#AssaultAtFitzgeraldMiddle
Pinellas Park, FLA school resource officer deployed his stun gun as a Fitzgerald Middle School student walked away from a fight that occurred during dismissal. The female student’s back was turned to the officer during the incident and she was handcuffed while on the ground.

#AssaultAtHelixCharter
La Mesa, CAA 17-year-old Black female student was flipped and body slammed onto the cement floor at Helix Charter upon refusing to leave campus after she was suspended. The student, was sick and on medication when school staff accused her of being on drugs.


#AssaultAtMadison
San Antonio, TXVideo taken at Madison High School during Saturday school showed a 16-year-old female student being pinned face down and arrested by school police officers. The two officers lifted her up, while handcuffed, and let her face fall to the ground. The student is heard crying for help. The student’s father arrived to the scene demanding the officers let go of the girl and he was placed in a chokehold.

#AssaultAtSeventyFirstHigh
Fayetteville, NCA 16-year-old Black male student was grabbed, restrained, and pepper sprayed in the face by a Cumberland County Sherriff's deputy and school police officer after the student intervened between two female students who were fighting.

#AssaultAtSpruceCreek
Port Orange, FLA Volusia County Sheriff’s deputy grabbed and threw a 16-year-old Black male student to the floor during an argument between the student and his girlfriend. The student was charged with resisting arrest and assaulting a school board staff, even though smartphone footage shows the student never put his hands on school staff.

#AssaultAtHumble
Houston, TXFollowing a school fight, a school police officer flipped Essence Prince to the ground and used his elbow to pin down the 16-year-old female student by her thigh. Essence was questioned by police without parental consent and was initially denied medical attention.


#AssaultAtBurnsville
Burnsville, MNA 14-year-old Black student was Tasered in the chest, wrestled to the ground, and arrested outside of Burnsville High School by a school police officer following a confrontation with another student.

#AssaultAtJemison
Huntsville, ALDuring an altercation with another student, 15-year-old Steven Franklin was grabbed and body slammed head first into concrete by a school police officer. The impact fractured Steven’s skull, causing him to have a seizure. He was sent to the intensive care unit, where we had emergency surgery. The school police officer was removed from campus, but remained a contract employee.

#AssaultAtLaMarque
La Marque, TXWilliam Jones, 17, was slammed to the ground and arrested by a sheriff’s deputy while attempting to stop his sister from fighting.

#AssaultAtEastern
Lansing, MIA former Lansing Eastern High School student came forward anonymously in the summer of 2018, describing unwanted advances, molestation, and sexual assault committed by Matthew Priebe, a former Lansing Police Department officer who worked as a school police officer. Priebe was charged with second-degree criminal sexual conduct, attempted fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct, two counts of assault and battery, and distributing obscene material to children. Investigative documents described inappropriate communications with multiple students.
#AssaultAtEastLawrence
Lawrence County, ALDecatur Police Lieutenant Archie Letson, who worked as a volunteer football coach at East Lawrence High School, was arrested for assaulting a player on the team during football practice. According to court documents, Letson slapped the student twice in the face, grabbed him by the hair, and threw him to the ground.
#AssaultAtBruslyMiddle
Brusly, LAA school police officer at Brusly Middle School repeatedly body slammed a 14-year-old Black male student as in the school's office as school staff. The student, who went to the school’s office to call his home to be picked up, allegedly argued with the school’s principal over his detention. The office’s surveillance footage shows the student passing the police officer, when the officer violently grabbed him, lifted him into the air, and slammed him onto the floor twice. The officer is seen punching the student repeatedly, as a second police office holds the student down. The officer claimed the student reached for his weapon, which was later proven false. Both police officers resigned and were indicted by a grand jury for malfeasance and simple battery.

#AssaultAtHanesMagnet
Winston-Salem, NCRockell Baldwin, 14, was body slammed by a school police officer onto the ground in her The student received a hall pass from her teacher to call her mother because she was sick. While walking the hallway, a school police officer stopped her and demanded she return to class. Rockell walked out of the school building, where the police officer forcefully stopped her, slammed her to the ground and arrested her. The officer held Rockell’s face to the concrete, and pinned her body to the ground with his knee and arrested her as the principal and assistant principal watched.

#AssaultAtSpringtown
Springtown, TXA 41-year-old former Springtown Police Department officer who worked at Springtown High School was convicted of indecency with a child. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison. During the trial, three female students testified on sexual assault, including a 14-year-old student who said the school police officer would take her out of class and molest her in the officer’s office.
#AssaultAtLeeHigh
Jacksonville, FLA school police officer was caught on film grabbing by the neck and flinging Sanji Sancho across a concrete floor. According to the 17-year-old student’s mother, the assault began after the officer would not allow Sanji back into the school after she was told her class was moved to the gym. When Sanji didn't find her class in the gym, she tried to get back through the gate but was stopped by the police officer. She suffered minor injuries on her shoulder and hand.


#AssaultAtRockIsland
Rock Island, ILWhile breaking up a fight on campus, a school police officer took 17-year-old Ariana Gabriel to the ground, pinned her face down on the ground while the student’s body weight was on her arm. Ariana suffered a dislocated shoulder.

#AssaultAtRockIsland
Rock Island, ILWhile breaking up a fight on campus, a school police officer took 17-year-old Ariana Gabriel to the ground, pinned her face down on the ground while the student’s body weight was on her arm. Ariana suffered a dislocated shoulder.

#AssaultAtCaneRidge
Nashville, TNDuring an altercation between three female students, a school police officer grabbed and body slammed a 14-year-old Black student, Jordyn Arnold to the floor. Jordyn told reporters that the officer pinned her down with their knee and the impact caused her to black out.

#AssaultAtCaneRidge
Nashville, TNDuring an altercation between three female students, a school police officer grabbed and body slammed a 14-year-old Black student, Jordyn Arnold to the floor. Jordyn told reporters that the officer pinned her down with their knee and the impact caused her to black out.

#AssaultAtEastEnglish
Detroit, MIA Detroit Securitas security guard violently intervened in a student altercation caught on video by a student. The white male security guard grabbed a Black female student by her hair and threw her against a stair railing. Following the assault, students led a restorative circle on campus to begin healing the harm.
#AssaultAtAlcovy
Covington, GAA student-recorded video showed two school police officers grabbing 14-year-old Asah Glenn by the throat, lifting him in the air and slamming him against a wall and to the ground. During class transition, students grabbed candy out off an open vending machine. Another student was pepper sprayed during the assault. Asah was charged with theft, disorderly conduct, disrupting a school function and obstruction. He was suspended for three days. Two other students were also charged with theft.
#AssaultAtWashingtonElementary
Tampa Bay, FLA school resource officer, hired through the state-mandated Guardian Program, was arrested and charged with sexual battery for blindfolding and sexually assaulting a 6-year-old student. Tillman allegedly took the 6-year-old out of class to a "game room" at the school, covered the girl's face with a jacket, and sexually assaulted her.
#AssaultAtHiggins
Jefferson Parish, LAJami Coston, 18, was assaulted by a Jefferson Parish Sheriff's deputy at L.W. Higgins High School. The assault left Jami’s face bruised and bloodied. The student was accused of smelling like cigarettes in his classroom. When Jami refused to be searched, the teacher called in the deputy who tackled Jami to the floor and handcuffed him. Jami was arrested and taken to an office where students reported they heard him scream. He was taken to Jefferson Parish Jail and booked for battery of a police officer, resisting an officer and interfering with an educational facility. The following day, students protested and demanded Jami be released. The school police and additional Jefferson Parish police assaulted, pepper sprayed, and arrested more students. The school also suspended and expelled students who exercised their right to protest.

#AssaultAtMarshall
Chicago, ILChicago police officers were caught on a student-recorded video assaulting 16-year-old Dnigma Howard. Dnigma was accused of taking out her cell-phone during class. Instead of allowing her to talk to her counselor, as stated in her Individualized Education Plan, the school called a police officer to forcefully escort her from the classroom. In front of students and Dnigma’s father, police used their stun gun and hit Dnigma in the face. Dnigma was charged with two felony counts of aggravated battery, which were later dropped. The two police officers were removed from the school. The president of the Fraternal Order of Police released a statement opposing the court's decision to drop the charges.



#AssaultAtFerris
Spokane, WAStudents at Ferris High School protested the alledged use of excessive force on a student by police officer Shawn Audie. The officer pinned an 18-year-old Black male student to the ground with his knee on his back. Audie became a school resource officer in September 2018, after resigning from the Spokane County Sheriff's Office in lieu of being terminated. While at the Sheriff’s Office, Audie was accused of excessive force four times, and was sued in federal court three times for alleged violent behavior during arrests, including a case when a man lost consciousness and died from Audie’s chokehold.

#AssaultAtHazleton
Hazleton, PAA student-recorded video went viral of a Hazleton area school police officer who punched a 15-year-old Black female student in the legs and kneecaps, then slammed her head onto a lunch table as two other men restrained her. The officer then proceeded to pull the students hair and pin her head on the table. At least four students were expelled following the altercation between the students.



#AssaultAtOnslow
Onslow County, NCSchool police officer Deputy David Pickett beat 13-year-old Jorge Miguel Lopez in an empty classroom. The officer claimed the student flung a chair at him, but security cameras proved that to be false. The deputy allegedly used excessive force to get Jorge to the floor and repeatedly punched him, causing the student to suffer a fractured nose and eye. According to students, the officer repeatedly bullied students and got into altercations with both male and female students.

#AssaultAtOwatonna
Owatonna, MNAfter a series of racist social media posts by white students targeting Black students, including the repeated use of the “N-word”, a confrontation between students took place in the school cafeteria. The school called in police, who placed the campus on lockdown. Police tackled students and two of the young people were taken into police custody and charged.


#AssaultAtCommerce
Springfield, MASecurity cameras at the High School of Commerce captured a school police officer making eye contact with a Black male student walking in the hallway, walking towards him as the student passed him, and then gabbing the student by the back of his neck and slamming him against the wall. When a second police officer intervenes, the student is arrested.


#AssaultAtCedarRidge
Round Rock, TXA school police officer was recorded slamming a Black female student onto the ground outside of her school. Prior to the incident, the student was in an altercation with another student on the school bus. When she was escorted from the bus by school staff, the officer ran up to her and flipped her onto the ground. The student was taken into police custody.
#AssaultAtDalewoodMiddle
Chattanooga, TNRecordings show a Dalewood Middle School police officer and a school staff member pinning a 14-year-old Black female student to the ground. The officer and staff member wrestled the student and put her in handcuffs. The student was sent to the hospital before being processed at the juvenile detention center, charged with simple assault, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.
#AssaultAtBrinkley
Brinkly, AR
#AssaultAtCleveland
Johnston County, NCStudents of color are more likely to attend schools that employ school police officers, but no school counselor.
3 times more likely
to attend a school with more security staff than mental health personnel.
Source: 2013-2014 Civil Rights Data Collection, “A First Look: Key Data Highlights on Equity and Opportunity Gaps in Our Nation’s Public Schools.” U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights. (June 7, 2016).
TAKE ACTION
Learn more about the problem by downloading the full report and become a part of the solution by downloading the action kit.