Teachers are told not to restrain, but law enforcement can use spray and tasers.
ORANGE COUNTY — The Orange County School District is dealing with the fallout from two separate on-campus fights.
Both fights happened Wednesday on the last day of classes.
A law enforcement officer had to take some extreme measures in both cases, including using a stun gun on a middle school student and firing pepper spray above a crowd.
Both times each law enforcement officer said it was his only option.
Two female students began fighting outside Southwest Middle School Wednesday.
An Orange County Sheriff’s Office incident report describes how a large crowd of kids gathered around to watch.
An eyewitness News 13 spoke with described the girls as “really going at it” with hands flying and pulling hair. She called the fight unbelievable.
The on-duty school resource officer began yelling at the girls to stop, warning them he would use a stun gun.
When the girls continued to fight, that’s when he shot the stun gun, hitting one of the girls.
News 13 asked the Orange County Sheriff’s Office if protocol was followed. Officials said the deputy acted appropriately by only using the stun gun as a last resort.
However, parents said using a stun gun on a 12-year-old girl is never appropriate.
The second incident happened right outside the 800 building at Boone High School.
An Orlando police report states several fights broke out during lunchtime.
According to the OPD officer, hundreds of students began running to watch the series of fights, making an already chaotic situation even worse.
The officer repeatedly told the crowd to get back. When nobody listened, he sprayed chemical spray above the crowd.
The two students who started the fight were ultimately arrested.
The school district said it’s up to the law enforcement officer to decide whether they need to take more drastic measures.
According to the district’s records, this was the third time a deputy has used a stun gun on a student.
Back in March 2008, a deputy used a stun gun on a Moss Park Elementary School student. The student had punched the deputy.
In August of the same year, a deputy used a stun gun to stop two students from fighting at Wekiva High School.
Story: www.cfnews13.com