Video shows Cass Tech student pepper sprayed by DPS officer

Video has surfaced from an incident last December that claims to show a Detroit Public Schools Police Officer assaulting a student at Cass Tech High School.

The video was uploaded to YouTube on Thursday but has a timestamp from December 9, 2015. The 5:00 long video shows a student struggling with a DPS officer.

VIDEO: Watch parents and students react in the video above.

The officer is seen pushing the student into a wall and then fighting with the student for an object. The student is eventually pushed into a corner of a hallway while the officer stands over her. 3:00 minutes later, the student and officer begin fighting again with another officer and personnel watching.

Eventually, the student is carried off by another officer.

According to the person who posted the video, the 15-year-old student was pepper sprayed and assaulted during the ordeal.

On Friday, DPS released a report in response to the incident. The officer says the student was trying to ride the elevator with an expired pass and was told to get off and take the stairs. A school security officer arrived and asked for the student's ID, which she did not produce. 

Instead, she ran upstairs with the officer behind her and was met by the assistance principal and the police officer. The student put her headphones on an and 'tuned out' the assistant principal. The officer reached up to remove the headphones and the student pulled away.

The officer writes that she fell against the wall and was told she would be arrested if she continued to act disorderly. The officer said the student then started kicking and tried to bite him. He then warned her she would be pepper sprayed if she continued to fight. 

When she didn't comply, the officer sprayed her once. She was then taken to have her eyes washed out and checked out by the school nurse. 

CLICK HERE TO READ THE REPORT

The Detroit Public School's Transitional Manager, Judge Steven Rhodes, said he reviewed the video and the documentation related to the incident. He said in a statement provided from DPS that he is 'satisfied that this matter was appropriately addressed by the Detroit Public Schools Police Department.'

The DPS police department also conducted an investigation and said that the officer did not do anything wrong.

Watch the video below and see it unfold for yourself: (APP users, tap here)

 

 

Detroit Public Schools released this statement on Friday:

"The Detroit Public Schools Police Department conducted a thorough investigation beginning on December 12, 2015 in response to a complaint filed surrounding the actions in the video. Judge Rhodes has reviewed the video, documentation involved in this investigation and is satisfied that this matter was appropriately addressed by the Detroit Public Schools Police Department.  Consistent with Judge Rhodes' commitment to transparency, the District is releasing the report filed by the Detroit Public Schools Police Department regarding the incident in question. In adherence to the FERPA law, names of students have been redacted.

According to the DPS Police Department's final report, it was deemed that the officer followed proper procedures as outlined in the Force Continuum Policy contained in the DPS Police Officer Manual. In addition, the report outlines that several witnesses were interviewed, statements were consistent and the conclusions were justified by the evidence."