An Arkansas high school resource officer has been “relieved of duty” after a video of him putting a student in a chokehold was posted online.
A video of resource officer Jake Perry was posted online, and in it, Perry can be seen choking a student out with so much strength that he begins lifting the child off the ground. The video shows students watching the incident take place as the officer eventually loosens his hold and releases the non-resisting child. Following the release of the video, Camden Police Chief Boyd Woody sent a statement saying Perry was “relieved of duty pending an investigation.”
“I was notified by my staff that there had been an incident this morning at the Camden High School involving a Camden Police Officer,” said Woody. Woody also released a statement to CNN on Tuesday that said Perry was assigned to the high school as a resource officer, and “a fight between a couple of student{s} broke out.” “Officer Perry intervened and at some point during that is when a student videoed a portion of the incident,” Woody said. Woody said he immediately ordered a professional standards investigation, and Perry was “was relieved of duty until the completion of the investigation.”
“I take this very seriously and am working as quickly as possible. As the Police Chief, I will not tolerate misconduct from my officers, and this matter will be dealt with accordingly, and I will be transparent in doing so,” Woody said in his statement.
Camden Fairview School District Superintendent Fred Lilly said the district will assist the police with the investigation. The district said it will also be looking into changing school resource officer policies and procedures. “CFSD’s first priority is, and will continue to be, to provide an excellent education to all of our students in a safe environment,” Lilly said.
