A member of the DeSoto Independent School District is under fire for allegedly firing pepper-ball pellets at students in order to stop an ongoing brawl, reported NBC DFW.
DeSoto ISD said the altercation started at DeSoto High School during a violent fight in the cafeteria that had continued to escalate.
A video from a mobile phone captured on Friday appeared to show campus security shooting pepper spray at students. Other similar videos were available on social media.
“What you saw in the video was a pepper spray device,” Tiffanie Blackmon-Jones, DeSoto ISD media spokesperson, explained. “Those are allowable. There are certain restrictions about how they can be used. We were in alignment with the permitted use of those.”
Blackmon-Jones said the campus security followed protocol by not using pepper spray as their first method of handling the situation.
“There were several opportunities and instances in which the security guard in question made several directives asking the kids to comply,” she explained.
The district did not say whether or not any disciplinary action would be taken against either campus security or the students involved in the altercation.
DeSoto ISD said it wanted to use the incident as a teachable moment for its students to develop alternatives to conflict resolution.
“Despite these realities, we want to reiterate that the actions of a few are not reflective of the overall character and quality of our student body,” the statement read.
“The district is in the process of addressing the matter and is limited in what it can offer regarding resolution due to personnel privacy laws,” the district continued. “As a result, the district has issued a communication to parents and staff regarding the matter and is working with administrators to address the matter with staff via training and education.”
DeSoto ISD commended its Texas Education Agency accountability rating of “B” for the school year 2021-2022 as an improvement. In comparison, the student achievement rating for Dallas ISD was a “C.”
My comment is without a doubt the students should be punished and not a light punishment. The officers were in within school policy and no way should they be punished.
I TOTALL AGREE UNTIL WE BRING TOTAL ZERO TOLLERANCE AND HOLD STUDENTS ACCOUNTABLE THIS WILL CONTINUE. THE POLICE HAVE A DIFFICULT ENOUGH JOB WE ARE CREATING THUGS AND THEN OUR POLICE HAVE TO DEAL WITH. WITHOUT STRICTER RULES THIS WILL ONLY GET WORSE.
I have lived in DeSoto for 20 years and substituted for 17 years. I fully support Dr.Rodgers and the administration.
Desoto dynamics have changed and so has education country wide. I think they should be expelled for at least 10 days and stay home and run havoc on the parents who are not raising them.
I’ve taught 35 years in Dallas and school discipline is horrible. It’s time to take schools back into the hands of adults. Fighting is an expellable offense.
Also, phones in schools have to go! If there was no audience there would be no show!