Security Guard Who Knelt On 12-Year-Old's Neck To Break Up On-Campus Fight May Face Charges

A video of an off-duty police officer who appeared to kneel on a student's neck while trying to break up a fight in middle school has gone viral on social media. The family of the 12-year-old Wisconsin girl now calls for charges to be filed against the unidentified officer who has now resigned from his role as a security guard at the school, reports said.

The incident happened at Lincoln Middle School in Kenosha on March 4, when a fight broke out between two students in the cafeteria during lunch. The off-duty officer, along with other staff members, tried to intervene and one of the staff was reportedly injured, Kenosha Police Department (KPD) said in a news release during the incident.

A video recorded by one of the students shows the off-duty cop responding to the fight pinning down the 12-year-old girl and kneeling on her neck after she appeared to push him away, ABC News reported. However, from the short video, it is unclear what happened before and after the incident.

The KPD said the off-duty officer in question has four years of experience with the department, and an investigation into the incident has been launched.

The school district confirmed that the officer has resigned from his role effective Tuesday, March 16. "As it appears that this incident may lead to litigation, the district will provide no further details at this time," Tanya Ruder, Kenosha Unified School District spokeswoman, told CNN.

Meanwhile, Jerrel Perez, the girl's father, said he was "destroyed" when he saw his daughter's picture with the officer kneeling on her. "She's humiliated, she's traumatized. Every day I gotta hear, 'Daddy, I don't wanna go to school,'" the girl's father described the ordeal.

"It breaks me because I wasn't there to help her...I felt helpless." Perez said, adding that his daughter is currently receiving treatment for the neck injury.

"All it takes is just a little bit, especially for a 12-year-old girl. We've seen a grown man die from that same situation, just imagine a fragile 12-year-old's neck," Perez told CNN referring to George Floyd's murder in Minnesota.

The family plans to file a lawsuit and wants to see the officer charged. The family's lawyer Drew DeVinney denied the allegation that the girl pushed the officer and claimed she was charged with "disorderly conduct."