Videos appear to show off-duty Kenosha officer placing knee on 12-year-old’s neck
Short videos and images from a recent lunch hour fight at a Kenosha middle school have been circulating on social media. The videos appear to show an off-duty Kenosha police officer subduing a student by placing his knee on the girl’s neck.
The incident occurred Friday at Lincoln Middle School in Kenosha. The Kenosha Police Department issued a statement on Monday acknowledging the man in the video is an officer in the department but works off-duty for the Kenosha Unified School District.
“We are keenly aware of the significant sensitivity surrounding the photo. K.P.D., together with K.U.S.D. is investigating the incident in its entirety while being cautious not to make conclusions based off of a small piece of information shared on social media,” the statement reads, in part.
The 12-year-old girl’s father, Jerrel Perez, referred the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel to his attorneys at Ahmad & Associates LLC. They refused to comment on the matter, stating only that “we can’t make any comments at this time until we’ve had an opportunity to do our own investigation. So, we’re gonna stay mum for now.”
Perez has taken to Facebook in recent days, regarding the incident and he confirmed with the Journal Sentinel that he made a Facebook post comparing the incident to Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin as he knelt on George Floyd’s neck.
Floyd died as a result and Chauvin was found guilty of second-degree unintentional murder, thirddegree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
The Kenosha Unified School District announced a special school board meeting set for Tuesday night has been canceled.
“This part-time KUSD employee, who was hired as an off-duty Kenosha police officer, is currently on a paid leave from the district. We appreciate your patience as we work with the Kenosha Police Department to investigate the facts surrounding this incident,” the school district said in a statement.
The Kenosha Education Association President Tanya Kitts-Lewinski issued a statement:
“It’s disheartening to see another negative and traumatic event in Kenosha schools receiving publicity and attention. Situations like the one at Lincoln Middle School continue to illustrate the need for adequate and frequent training in de-escalation tactics, proper restraint holds, and restorative justice practices for all adults in a school building.”
“It is unacceptable in any situation for an adult to restrain a young student by placing their knee on their neck. All staff, including those in any security positions, should be regularly participating in de-escalation and restraint drills, just as students and staff practice tornado and active shooter drills every month — school fights and conflicts happen much more frequently than tornadoes.”
“We hope everyone involved recovers from any injuries they may have sustained and that this incident can be the catalyst to evaluate current policies and practices in place around school conflict resolution.”
Kenosha police said both the school district and Police Department “will look to our respective policies and procedures for guidance in this circumstance.”
“We hope ... this incident can be the catalyst to evaluate current policies and practices in place around school conflict resolution.” Tanya Kitts-Lewinski Kenosha Education Association president