A Leesburg High School student attacked a school resource officer as a rising number of altercations have been reported on campus.
The high school has experienced a number of physical altercations between students, according to the Leesburg Police Department. Several of the students involved in these altercations have been identified as juveniles who have been closely connected to violent crimes occurring throughout the city of Leesburg and surrounding areas.
On Thursday, while investigating these fights and in an effort to prevent additional altercations that were rumored to be imminent, a Leesburg Police Department School Resource Officer assigned to the Leesburg High School had an encounter with a student who the officer knew to be affiliated with the students involved in the altercations. The officer had a good rapport with this student and believed that he would be able to speak with him about the issues. While attempting to speak to the student about the fights and suspected criminal activity on campus, the student became animated and verbally aggressive toward the officer. The officer responded to the student by commenting about the student’s unrelated arrest on the prior week. The student, who is physically larger than the SRO, reacted to the officer’s comment by charging and swinging his fist at the officer. The officer was able to deflect the strike, and redirect the student to the ground. Within a few brief moments, the student regained his composure and was assisted back to his feet by the officer. When he stood, the officer noticed that the student had a small abrasion on his lip and he recommended that the student see the school nurse. The student refused, saying that he was fine.
“The officer used his discretion, recognizing that not arresting the student was acting in the better interest of the student,” according to a news release from the police department.
The officer reported the incident to school administration and to his direct supervision, and completed an incident report to document what occurred.
Knowing that the majority of high school students carry cellular telephones with video cameras, an effort was made to locate any possible video of the interaction; however, it was determined that there were no other students in the immediate area at the time. Leesburg Police Department officers are not equipped with body cameras at this time.
The chief of police, along with the principal of Leesburg High School, held a meeting with a number of community leaders on Friday to encourage an open and productive dialogue about all of these issues.
