San Antonio Schools Investigating Video Showing Officer Body-Slamming Girl to the Ground
The incident is now underway and the officer was placed on leave.
— -- A shocking video appearing to show a school police officer body-slamming a young girl has prompted an investigation by the district.
A spokeswoman for the San Antonio school district confirmed to ABC News that the investigation into the video is underway.
The beginning of the video shows an officer, identified by the district as Joshua Kehm, lifting a young girl from behind before turning and slamming her on the floor.
Kehm puts the girl in handcuffs while she is face-down on the ground. He then lifts her back up and they walk off.
The school district spokeswoman said it would not be releasing the girl's name. Kehm started working as a police officer for the school district in February 2015, according to the district's spokeswoman Leslie Price told ABC News.
The incident happened on March 29 at Rhodes Middle School, a charter school, but the video was posted on YouTube on Tuesday night.
It was then that school officials were made aware of the incident.
Kehm was placed on paid leave while the investigation is underway, Price said.
"Officers are trained for a variety of scenarios but we will not tolerate any excessive force," Price said.
The investigation is ongoing but Price said they have started to get a sense of what started the incident.
"All we know at this point is it seems like the incident began with two students having a verbal altercation," Price said.