Wake County Schools

Rolesville student slammed to ground by officer: 'I was in shock'

In video on Twitter posted Tuesday by a student at Rolesville High School, a Rolesville police officer is visible picking up a female student and slamming her to the floor.

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ROLESVILLE, N.C. — In video on Twitter posted Tuesday by a student at Rolesville High School, a Rolesville police officer is visible picking up a female student and slamming her to the floor.

The girl in the video is Jasmine Darwin, who said she was trying to break up a fight between her sister and another student when the officer came from behind and slammed her to the ground.

Darwin said, in the moment, she hadn't fully grasped what had happened.

"Every time I look at it, its embarrassing," Darwin said of the video. "I didn't even realize it happened. Like, I was in shock."

Rolesville police chief Bobby Langston said the fight occurred in the school cafeteria at about 7:10 a.m.

Darwin's mother, Desiree Harrison, said she was called to the school about her other daughter, but had no clue what had happened to Darwin until after she got home. Harrison said she feels the officer's actions were excessive.

"When I'm looking at this video, I'm like 'oh my god, this cannot be happening to my child' because I was just up at the school and they didn't even tell me what happened to her," Harrison said. "They were so busy trying to get rid of the one who was in a fight but didn't even say something about the one that was not involved in anything."

According to Rolesville Mayor Frank Eagles, the officer seen on the video is Rolesville High School resource officer Ruben De Los Santos. De Los Santos, who is a member of the Rolesville Police Department and has been a resource officer at the school for four years, has been placed on paid administrative leave.

Langston said the State Bureau of Investigation has been called in to review the incident and asked for public patience while the incident is investigated.

Harrison said she took her daughter to the hospital, where she was told she has a concussion. Harrison said she will keep her daughter home from school Wednesday.

"That's not how you handle a child. She's only 100 pounds. He could've killed her," Harrison said.

After the video was posted to Twitter, students were quick to tag the Wake County Public School System and ask for a response.

Lisa Luten, a spokeswoman for the school system, said, "We are aware of the video. We are working with the Rolesville Police Department to gather all of the details around this incident to ensure that we take the appropriate action."

Rolesville High School principal Dhedra Lassiter released a statement on the school's website saying "I, like many of you, am deeply concerned about what I saw in the video."

"The safety of our students is always our first priority. Our school district works with many dedicated officers who protect out students," Lassiter said. "It is vital that our children have a positive relationship with these law enforcement officials. Those relationships are built on mutual respect."

Lassiter said that a unified agreement with local law enforcement agencies that provide training for school resource officers will be reviewed by the district and law enforcement agencies as part of the investigation.

Eagles said body camera footage of the incident exists. Langston would not go into detail about possible video that shows what happened before Darwin was thrown to the ground.

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