LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – It took a court order, and after nearly a year of refusing to release it to the public, CCSD has finally released school police officer body camera video of an incident where a CCSD officer is seen slamming a student to the ground.
The incident happened last February just down the street from Durango High School. Cell phone video shows the takedown and other students ended up in handcuffs.
FOX5 is now looking over the video. FOX5 filed public records requests and got lawyers involved to force CCSD to release the video and written reports. The American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada took CCSD to court to get the video. Thirty days ago, a judge ordered the district to release the video.
One student who was handcuffed told FOX5 he simply wanted to record video of the interaction with police on his cell phone. Another student told us an officer approached him, saying he was jaywalking. But neither CCSD Police nor the district ever gave any explanation of why officers made contact with the students in the first place.
Police only said officers were investigating reports of a gun near campus and never explained why one officer threw a student to the ground. The ACLU says a gun was not found on the students. It represents two of the students on the scene that day.
CCSD has repeatedly tried to block the video from being released to the public, citing confidential and privileged information that shouldn’t be made public, such as information about employees and students. Shortly after the incident last winter CCSD Superintendent Jesus Jara called for a review of the CCSD Police Department’s use of force policies.
“The children of our community and their families must believe that they will be respected, treated with dignity, and safe while at our schools or interacting with our employees. Anything less is simply unacceptable,” Jara said at the time.
CCSD did not discipline the officer seen on cell phone video throwing the student to the ground. Attorney Adam Levine issued a statement on behalf of the Police Officers Association of the Clark County School District.
FOX5 has reached out to the district and CCSD Police for comment on the release of the body camera video.
We will be looking over the video and provide updates online and on air on what’s seen.
FULL VIDEO
Warning: Body camera footage is unedited and may be disturbing for some viewers.
CONTINUING COVERAGE
ACLU: CCSD is ‘stonewalling’ on providing body camera video, police report on incident near high school
Protestors demand CCSD police reform, officer’s firing following altercation near Durango High School
Lawmakers probe CCSD police policies after school officer takes down student near Durango High
CCSD collected student records after school police confrontation with Durango High students
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