AKRON, Ohio — The Akron Police Union President is reacting to a video of a school officer punching a high school student who was refusing to listen to commands.
After numerous critics of the officer’s actions spoke out yesterday, some are asking what the officers should have done. That answer is a tricky one, as we learned today.
WHAT THE VIDEO SHOWS
The video is from Wednesday, showing a 16-year-old at Firestone High School avoiding the metal detectors, trying to run into the school, and officers trying to put handcuffs on him as he resists. An officer eventually hits the teen in the head, taking him down.
Brian Lucey is the president of the Akron Police Union.
“People think deescalation is just some magical fairy dust that we carry around with us that we can sprinkle on people and they’ll stop doing whatever behavior and they’ll start cooperating with us,” said Lucey.
UNION PRES.: THEY DIDN'T KNOW IF HE HAD WEAPON
He told us the officers at the time didn’t know if the student had a weapon, couldn’t allow him to just walk by, and the student resisted for about 20 seconds before being hit. “I would say those officers did a fantastic job in keeping the over 1100 students safe that day,” said Lucey.
One use-of-force expert told us punches to the head could be construed as using deadly force. We also spoke to another expert.
SCHOOL SAFETY EXPERT WEIGHS IN
“This is a no-win situation for the student, the school or the officer,” said school safety expert Ken Trump.
He said the officer’s actions will be judged based on a reasonable officer’s perspective at that moment.
“It’s the totality of circumstances, the officer’s assessment, the potential threat, the level of resistance in this situation,” said Trump. “All of that has to come together.”
We asked what other techniques the officer could have used instead of punching. Trump told us, and according to the police report, an officer “grabbed (the student) by the legs and began to lift them,” but gaining control didn’t work. The report also stated the student said, “You’re not going to trip me.”
Trump said that’s certainly not justifying the punching, but the next use-of-force steps might not have been a great option either. “If an officer tased the kid, we would still be having this conversation,” said Trump.
“No one wants to see a student being punched,” said Trump. “At the same time no one wants to see a potential school shooting, a severe incident.”
The teen’s attorney released a statement saying it was “needless violence.”
The Mayor of Akron, Shammas Malik, told us, “I found the video upsetting I expect many others will as well.”
The Akron Superintendent said the officer’s actions were unacceptable and wanted the officer removed.
Lucey told us it’s disappointing when city and school leaders come out right away with criticisms. “It’s frustrating that officers are not given the benefit of the doubt and these investigations are not give time to play out like they’re supposed to,” said Lucey.
Trump said that in that investigation, questions will be asked, such as what the various steps of use of force are in this situation. Are they consistent with department policies? And is this what they are trained to do?
