Body camera footage was finally released nearly a year after a Las Vegas school officer kneeled on a Black teenager, which kindled widespread outrage in the community and set off yet more public outcry on police brutality and excessive force.
According to The Associated Press, the incident occurred last February near Durango High School in Las Vegas. Yet, it took a lawsuit and a court order for the Clark County School District to release information and footage in their possession revealing what happened.
An incident report reveals that on Feb. 9, 2023, Lt. Jason Elfberg was investigating a report of a gun brought near the school the day prior following a threat that surfaced of a plan to “shoot up” a Las Vegas school. No weapon was found.
According to Elfberg’s account, the teen he forced to the ground refused to move away from him as he was handcuffing another student.
Cell phone video shows the teen recording Eflberg detaining a student, and when Elfberg spots him, he asks, “You want next, dude?” before telling him to “start walking.”
When the teen refuses, Elfberg walks toward him. The student backed away, lowered his phone, and told Elfberg not to touch him, but Elfberg grabbed him and forced him against a fence before twisting him and violently forcing him to the ground next to a police car.
In the background of the video, students were heard yelling at the Elfberg. One student even approached Elfberg in protest, but Elfberg pushed the student away and yelled, “Back the f*** off!”
In Elfberg’s account, he said when he pushed the teen against the fence, the teen “attempted again to remove himself from my grasp, so I then spun him around and took him down to the ground.”
Bystander video reportedly drew numerous views on social media and many comparisons between Elfberg’s actions and those of former Minneapolis officer Derek Chauvin, who is serving time in prison for murdering George Floyd.
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