Sandy MaloneLittle Elm, TX – An investigation is underway after a student protest at Little Elm High School on Friday became a brawl with school resource officers that ended after Tasers and pepper spray were deployed (video below).
The incident occurred on Nov. 19 after outraged students protested because of what school officials called “inaccurate information” that a female student had been suspended after she reported another student for sexually assaulting and harassing her, the Dallas Morning News reported.
The student told KXAS that she filed a complaint after she was groped and verbally harassed on the school bus in October.
Little Elm Mayor Curtis Cornelious said Little Elm police and the school administration were unable to find sufficient evidence to prosecute the other student, the Dallas Morning News reported.
But the school kept a “stay away order” in place between the girl and the student she had accused, KXAS reported.
Despite that order, the girl approached and tried to talk to the other student and was given a three-day, in-school suspension as a result.
Then the girl posted a Snapchat and detailed her experience and her classmates became outraged, the Dallas Morning News reported.
Many students were angry that the person she accused hadn’t been arrested and that “the victim” had ended up suffering disciplinary consequences, so they organized a protest in school.
A video of a brawl between school resource officers and students spread quickly on social media but it did not show what led up to the altercation, the Dallas Morning News reported.
Little Elm Independent School District (ISD) Superintendent Daniel Gallagher said that during the protest, a mob of students tried to break into an administrator’s office in pursuit of some students who were hiding there.
Gallagher said those individuals were in legitimate fear for their safety, the Dallas Morning News reported.
The mayor said that two students assaulted two separate officers during the melee.
Cornelious said a third student tried to intervene in the arrest and was pepper sprayed and Tased after he ignored officers’ commands and continued to advance on them, the Dallas Morning News reported.
He said a fourth student spit on an officer, which is an assault under Texas law.
The mayor said the Little Elm Police Department was conducting an internal investigation to determine whether any policies or procedures were violated during the incident, the Dallas Morning News reported.
Gallagher said the school district would hold a “listening session” on Nov. 30 to hear the school community’s concerns, KXAS reported.
“We’re appalled by instances of sexual misconduct. We support the brave victims who come forward,” the superintendent said.
Gallagher also said he had created an independent committee to review the school district’s sexual harassment reporting and investigation processes, according to the Dallas Morning News.
He said the committee would also review the investigation into the incident that led to the protest and brawl, KXAS reported.
“We will have an after-action review of Friday’s incident that will be conducted by the Little Elm ISD Safety and Security Committee,” the superintendent said in a statement.
Watch the incident unfold in the video below. WARNING – Graphic Content and Obscene Language:
(CW: Police violence)
Police spray and tase students at Little Elm Highschool in Texas after a walk out for a girl who was sexually assaulted and put on suspension. this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/SEenszaAdD
— 🥀_Imposter_🕸️ (@Imposter_Edits) November 19, 2021
Holly Matkin
