School fight leads to use-of-force concerns

FARRELL, Pa. (WKBN) — A 16-year-old student is facing a charge of disorderly conduct after a cafeteria fight at Farrell High School where the family of the student claims the school resource officer and a school administration member used an excessive amount of force to restrain her.

Video provided to First News of the incident shows two girls arguing and the school resource officer coming between them more than once with his arms spread to keep them separate. The video then shows the student who is facing the charge go around a lunch table to avoid the SRO and approach the other girl, swinging her fists in the air. At this point, the SRO takes hold of the girl who is swinging her fists and pins her down to a nearby cafeteria table.

Video and photo evidence provided to First News shows the SRO holding the student to the table in the area of her throat while the administration member held the student’s arms above her head.

First News reached out to Farrell School District at the time of the incident and was provided the following comment:

“The District is aware of the matter and it is presently under investigation by both District officials and law enforcement officials. The District cannot comment at the present time, and the involved employee has been placed on administrative leave while the investigation is pending.”

The district did not clarify if the “involved employee” is the administration member or the SRO.

Due to the nature of the incident and the involvement of the school resource officer, Pennsylvania State Police were assigned the case.

In a report, PSP states that upon review of the video footage of the incident captured on the school camera system, the 16-year-old student was charged with disorderly conduct “for engaging in fighting and tumultuous behavior requiring her to be restrained by the resource officer as well as administration to prevent the [student] from assaulting another student.”

First News reached out to the school district again in light of the charges to the student to request the status of the staff member placed on leave and has yet to receive a response.

The police report does not state any charges against either the SRO or the administrative member related to the incident.

In a phone interview, the mother of the student said she took her daughter to the hospital after the incident to ensure she was OK.

“This is a schoolgirl fight, not a deadly situation,” the mother said regarding the way her daughter was restrained.

The incident took place on Sept. 26 and the police report requested by First News in the days after it occurred was provided on Oct. 9. First News also repeatedly reached out to the Farrell Police Department over the course of several weeks with no response.

Editor’s note: First News will not release the video of the incident in order to protect the identities of all those involved as well as other uninvolved students captured in the footage.

Erin Yudt contributed to this report.

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