In video, teen screams as school officer deploys stun gun to immobilize her

A bystander captured video of a Florida middle school student screaming and falling to the ground after a resource officer shot her with a stun gun.

The officer at Morgan Fitzgerald Middle School in Pinellas Park, Fla., can be seen attempting to gain compliance of the young girl.

“Get off of me,” the girl yells before fleeing from the officer, who then aims his stun gun at her back.

She can be heard screaming as she is hit. Other students stop and gaze at the scene.

Another video shows the student lying on the ground while being handcuffed.

A spokesman with Pinellas Park police defended the officer’s actions in comments made to local media outlet WKRG.

“Once they (students) get it in their heads that that’s how they’re going to be, then certainly it makes for a tough situation,” he said, “especially when the (school resource officer) is charged with protecting all of the students at the school.”

He added that the student had earlier threatened the officer if he didn’t let her go.

The student had been involved in a fight with another student that the officer broke up, according to NBC-2.

Pinellas Park officials said the student might be charged for assault on a law enforcement officer, disorderly conduct or resisting arrest without violence.

This story was originally published December 19, 2017 at 10:58 AM with the headline "In video, teen screams as school officer deploys stun gun to immobilize her."