Officer resigns after alleged beating of student caught on tape.

Ashley Villanueva
Blog Post #4

This article was taken from cnn.com. A police officer in Illinois was assigned to a high school in Illinois called the Academy for Learning for children with special needs. He was caught on tape allegedly assaulting a special needs student Marshawn Pitts, 15. Pitts had brain injuries when he was hit by a car at young age. Pitts did not tuck his shirt in which violated the dress code so the police reprimanded him. Pitts walked away and when he did, the police officer slammed him to the lockers and then pinned him to the floor. He broke Pitts’ nose and the officer was treated for a scratched eye. The officer was put on administrative leave and then later resigned. A lawsuit may be filed later.
This is a type of formal control shown here. I wasn’t there so I can’t say what was the right move but from what I get out of this article it seems like this could have been dealt with in a better way. These children have special needs and I don’t think force is going to teach them what is right or wrong. If Pitts’ was acting in a harmful or dangerous way I could understand using force but it seems extreme to use force for not having his shirt tucked in. I think the police officer abused his power. He was not able to control Pitts so he found a way in which he could. This is a good example of control used in schools.