San Antonio school district police officer Joshua Kehm, who was caught on film slamming a 12-year-old student onto concrete ground, has been fired, BBC News Reports.
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Kehm, who was initially placed on paid leave following the release of the video, was fired Monday “effective immediately.” The incident occurred March 29, but the video was first published on a local blog last week.
In the video, Kehm is shown slamming Janissa Valdez to the ground following an incident reported as “verbal aggression” between Valdez and another female student.
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“As educators, it is our responsibility to provide a safe environment for all of our students,” said SAISD Superintendent Pedro Martinez in a released statement.
“We understand that situations can sometimes escalate to the point of requiring a physical response; however, in this situation we believe that the extent of the response was absolutely unwarranted. Additionally, the officer’s report was inconsistent with the video and it was also delayed, which is not in accordance with the general operating procedures of the police department. We want to be clear that we will not tolerate this behavior,” said Martinez.
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An administrative investigation is still ongoing.
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