School resource officer punches student while trying to break up fight

Cameras were rolling when a school resource officer punched a student while trying to break up a fight between two girls at a Colorado Springs high school Thursday.

But it’s a video that isn’t as clear as the HD it is shot in.

Was it a punch or a push by the school resource officer?

“It was a full on man punch,” said Kaosha Neal, a 15-year-old sophomore at Coronado High School.

“It looks like it is a combination between a push and a punch,” said Sgt. James Sokolik with the Colorado Springs Police Department.

Another point of contention is whether that force was justified.

“It’s reasonable for him to use just that necessary and appropriate force to take them into custody, make that arrest,” said Sokolik.

“I didn’t hit him. I want somebody to explain to me how that’s justifiable? Just hold me down, push me away, that’s all he had to do,” Neal said.

Witnesses who recorded the fight on their cell phones agree.

“I think he should get suspended or something at least because, I mean this is wrong. You don’t punch a kid,” said Harrison Mueller.

The SRO will be back to work tomorrow. Nothing the video clip taken by students nor the schools surveillance video shows any action that isn’t justified, according to CSPD.

The officer will fill out what’s known as a “response to aggression” report, detailing the incident. That will be reviewed by his supervisor and a final determination made.

The two girls involved, Kaosha and a 17-year-old student, have both been suspended for three days. They were also given a summons to appear in court for fighting, because if there was one thing that was clear in the video, it’s that.

“They shouldn’t be fighting on school property, they shouldn’t be fighting anywhere,” Sokolik said.