KEENE, N.H. (WHDH) – A father is outraged after a Keene, New Hampshire school resource officer tackled his 15-year-old son after he came out of a school bathroom — where the officer said the teen was vaping.
Shocking video of the incident shows the officer tackling the sophomore from behind, taking him to the ground and rolling on top of him. The officer said the teen had been vaping in the bathroom.
“If he had a knife or something, I get it, but he was leaving a bathroom,” said the teen’s father, who asked not to be identified by name.
Police say the teen refused to identify himself and was resisting police.
In a statement, the police chief said, “Officer English’s response was determined to be within KPD policy and in compliance with the New Hampshire use of force statute.”
The incident is under investigation, but the teen’s father questioned how the police chief could fairly investigate one of his own officers.
And he said his son, who still has bruises from the tacking, was not vaping with other students and that the same officer had cited him for possessing tobacco products in October.
The teen has been suspended from school for five days.
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