After body slamming student during arrest, Georgia school police chief placed on leave
A Georgia school district police chief is on a paid leave after a surveillance video showed him body-slamming a student during an arrest.
The DeKalb County School District said they are aware of the video showing the district's police chief Brad Gober arresting a 17-year-old student on Aug. 30 at Redan High School and are investigating the incident.
"In keeping with standard operating procedure, Chief Gober has been placed on administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of an internal investigation," the district wrote in a statement to USA TODAY. "This standard procedure ensures a comprehensive and impartial assessment of the incident."
The district said they will not provide further information as the investigation continues but added they will "responsibly address this matter in the best interests of the community and our students."
The student was charged with obstruction of law enforcement officers and disrupting public school, according to DeKalb County Jail booking records. He was jailed for over three days before being released Saturday night.
Video shared by Atlanta-based station WSB-TV shows the student walking away from officers before Gober picks him up and forces him to the ground by partially flipping him over. The station said they only received a portion of the video and that there is more unreleased footage.
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Verbal exchange preceded arrest, reports say
Gober and another officer reportedly struggled to place handcuffs on the student, according to WSB-TV.
The student's father said he had not been aware of the video or of his son's arrest saying he found out from his friends that his son was taken to jail.
“I didn’t know nothing about it… the school didn’t say nothing about that," the parent told WSB-TV. "I didn’t even know that he was arrested.”
Gober responded to a large fight near the school's front office and told the student not to intervene or he would be arrested, according to WSB-TV. The student was reportedly taken to a room at the front office where he recognized an adult woman in handcuffs who also responded to the fight. The student reportedly had a verbal exchange with police before he pulled away and was physically taken down by the police chief.
"I have not been able to stop crying since I saw that video," the teen's mother told FOX 5. "All I see is him walking, and someone come up and pick him up under his arms and slam him on the ground."
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: DeKalb schools police chief on leave after body slamming student
