*An Arkansas police officer has been placed on leave after putting a high school student in chokehold that was caught on camera and shared online.
According to a report from KTHV, the footage went viral on Monday after the original upload was removed from Facebook.
In the footage, Camden Police Officer Jake Perry (who is white) is seen choking a Black Camden Fairview High School student’s neck before lifting him repeatedly off the ground in an effort to restrain him. Watch the disturbing moment via the YouTube clip above.
The student has been identified as ninth-grader Dekyrion Ellis, per Complex.
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#RP @AttorneyCrump: This was at Camden Fairview High school in Arkansas.
How is it that after choking a teenager, the officer is on PAID leave as the school figures out “if” they should terminate him? They should be discussing how long his… https://t.co/EUpZJoMwze pic.twitter.com/3Q2rcXrRX0— Know Your Rights Camp (@yourrightscamp) February 12, 2020
Police Chief Boyd Woody said in a statement that Perry had been “relieved of duty” pending an investigation. “As the police chief, I will not tolerate misconduct from my officers and this matter will be dealt with accordingly,” he added.
Camden Fairview Superintendent Fred Lilly said in a statement that his district would “fully cooperate” with the investigation and work with police “to ensure that current policies and procedures for all SROs stationed at CFSD schools are reviewed and revised if necessary.”
“This morning at Camden Fairview High School (CFHS), an incident occurred in the CFHS commons area involving a CFHS student and a Camden Police Department School Resource Officer (SRO) assigned to CFHS,” Lilly said in a press release on Monday. “I have been informed that the officer involved has been relieved of duty pending an investigation by CPD. CFSD will fully cooperate with the CPD’s investigation. In order to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future, CFSD will work with the CPD to ensure that current policies and procedures for all SROs stationed at CFSD schools are reviewed and revised if necessary. CFSD’s first priority is, and will continue to be, to provide an excellent education to all of our students in a safe environment.”
In an interview with KTVE, Ellis recalled the terrifying experience.
“I feared for my life,” Ellis, who said the troubling interaction with the officer was preceded by an argument between himself and another student. “I didn’t know what was going to happen. I blacked out. I really didn’t see anything until he took me back to the office.”
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