DA: Vance SRO charged with body-slamming boy didn't hurt second student

A former Vance County school resource officer charged with assaulting one middle school student didn't do anything wrong in an encounter with a second student, District Attorney Mike Waters said Thursday.

After a video of the SRO body-slamming a Vance County Middle School student surfaced last week, the mother of a second student alleged that the SRO also manhandled her daughter.

Waters said security video of the encounter with that student, 12-year-old Miktazza Wynn, doesn't support that allegation.

"[The] officer clearly was not involved in any way," Waters said. "It does show some contact between the student and an assistant principal."

Miktazza said the SRO, Warren Durham, slammed her into a locker and pulled her up by her hair. The mother said Miktazza was on the phone with her at the time, and she could hear her screaming and crying.

"Based on our review of this video, we can find no merit to allegations as provided to us, and further, we can find no interaction that rises to the levels alleged," Sheriff Curtis Brame said in a statement.

Vance County Schools administrators said Thursday that the assistant principal, 48-year-old Kevin Ross, has been suspended pending the results of an internal investigation. Waters said Brame has agreed to look into the incident as well to determine if any criminal charges are warranted.

"We have initiated an investigation into it, and that is all I can say at this point," he said.

Ross started at Vance County Middle in January, officials said.

Miktazza's mother, Roslyn Wynn, said she watched the security video of the incident involving her daughter with Superintendent Anthony Jackson.

"He pushes her up against the wall," she said. "You see the principal throw her up on the other side of the locker."

Jackson apologized and offered counseling, Wynn said.

"That is school. She loves school. How dare you take that from my daughter? She does not want to go to school [now]," she said.

Wynn, who earlier accused Durham of assaulting her daughter, now says she's upset he didn't intervene in the situation.

"I want the video to get out so people can see it," she said.

Durham was fired Monday and was charged Tuesday with assault on a child under 12, misdemeanor child abuse and willful failure to discharge his duties for actions involving an 11-year-old boy that were recorded on video on Dec. 12.

That video shows a student wearing a red top and a school resource officer in uniform walking toward the camera side by side. The officer stops, reaches out, lifts the student against the wall, flips the child head-down and slams the child to the floor. The officer then bends over, drags the student to a standing position and lets him drop a second time. As the video ends, the officer appears to be dragging the student by the shirt toward the camera.

The 11-year-old boy spent Wednesday night in Duke University Hospital for evaluation of recurring headaches suffered in the incident, his family said.

Because the boy didn't suffer any broken bones, a concussion or other serious injury, Waters said he was precluded from pursuing a felony assault charge against Durham.

"It has brought a lot of negative attention on the community, obviously," Waters said of the allegations against Durham and Vance Middle School officials. "I think it is just an unfortunate situation, but I do appreciate and believe that the people here are handling it the best they can."