Caught on Camera: Texas School Officer Body-Slams 12-Year-Old Girl to the Ground

A Texas charter school has reportedly placed one of its police officers on leave Tuesday after video surfaced of him body-slamming a 12-year-old female student to the ground.

According to Reuters, the confrontation, which took place on March 29, began when the officer attempted to break up an exchange between Janissa Valdez, the 12-year-old girl, and another student.

The video then shows the officer lift up and throw Valdez to ground before handcuffing her still body and carrying off the visibly shaken student. Onlookers can be heard asking the girl if she was “okay” and remarking that “she landed on her face.”

The San Antonio Independent School District placed the officer in question, Joshua Kehm, on paid administrative leave after officials learned of the video and incident at Rhodes Middle School, according to the San Antonio Express-News.

The mother of the child, Gloria Valdez, expressed her dismay at seeing the video to local news stations.

“You can actually hear it, her head hits the concrete, and that’s what hurt me the most,” Valdez said to local TV station KSAT.

Neither Kehm nor the San Antonio Independent School District responded to press inquiries on the incident late Wednesday.

Sadly this is not the first time a school officer manhandling an underage female student has happened, been recorded and made headlines.

South Carolina police officer Ben Fields made national news last October after video emerged of him flipping and dragging a black female student out of a classroom at Spring Valley High School, according to local outlets.

The incident resulted in the prompt firing of Fields, according to reports, after national outcry broke out.

Other Spring Valley High students, however, showed solidarity with the officer, staging a walkout in response to his termination.

Watch the recent San Antonio incident here: