OSHKOSH (NBC 26) — An incident at Vel Phillips Middle School on Friday, Jan. 10, left a student in handcuffs and a staff member on leave.
- The incident started when a 13-year-old student refused to hand over a cell phone and was walking away from teachers.
- In OPD body camera footage, Dean of Students Christopher Willems is seen pushing the student into a room and then later against the wall.
- OASD says the involved staff member is now on leave but did not confirm to be referring to Willems.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story, with additional details for web.)
According to the Oshkosh Police report, the incident started when a 13-year-old student refused to hand over a cell phone and was walking away from teachers
In OPD body camera footage, the student resource officer, whose name was not provided by OPD, and dean of students, Christopher Willems, pushed the student towards an exit door.
The student refused to leave, asked for his belongings, and told the officer not to touch him.
The footage then shows Willems pushing the student up against the wall before the SRO handcuffed him and pushed him to the ground.
The footage shows the student being held on the floor for four minutes before other officers arrive, search him, and place him in a squad car.
Oshkosh Area School District policy on restraining a student says:
“It is the policy of the board to permit the use of seclusion and physical restraint only when a student’s behavior presents a clear, present, and imminent risk to the physical safety of the student or others, it is the least restrictive intervention feasible, and it is performed in a manner consistent with this policy and law.”
The policy also says a student shouldn't be placed in a “prone” position, which means lying face down on the ground.
Other OASD policy says, “The board is committed to maintaining the educational atmosphere of the schools and restricting access by individuals not part of the school system but also recognizes its responsibility to cooperate with law enforcement agencies and its need for assistance from law enforcement in certain circumstances.”.
OASD says in a statement: “To protect privacy rights, the district is unable to comment on personnel matters or situations involving individual students. We can affirm that the safety and well-being of our students remains our highest priority. Our district follows established policies, processes, and procedures for investigating and addressing any concerns that arise within our schools. Specific to this situation, OASD administrators conducted an internal investigation and as a result, the involved staff member is on administrative leave.”
According to OPD, the teen was arrested for resisting and threatening a police officer.
OPD also says they did not investigate the SRO in connection to this case, and he remains assigned to Vel Phillips.
