An Arkansas police officer was relieved of duty Monday pending an investigation of a viral video that appears to show him putting a student in a chokehold during a cafeteria scuffle.
The 24-second video apparently shows Camden Police officer Jerry Perry, assigned as a school resource officer in Camden Fairview High School, wrapping his arms around a student’s neck and lifting him off the floor several times – apparently to restrain the boy.
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Perry puts the student down, but keeps one arm around his neck as he escorts him out of the camera’s view, according to the video posted on Facebook, which has more than 900,000 views as of Tuesday morning.
Perry’s leave is effective immediately pending investigation, Camden Police Chief Boyd Woody said in a statement issued just hours after the video was posted.
“As the Police Chief, I will not tolerate misconduct from my officers and this matter will be dealt with accordingly,” Boyd said.
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Local news outlets identified the student as Dekyrion Ellis. He told KTVE-TV that he got into a shoving match with another student during an argument when Perry stepped in.
“I feared for my life,” Ellis said. “I didn’t know what was going to happen. I blacked out. I really didn’t see anything until he took me back to the office.”
Perry, who has lived in Camden all his life, has been with the department for about two years. Boyd told the station, adding that he’s “well-received” in the community.
However, Ellis’ family said they’ve been told the officer was known as a “bully” who didn’t get along with students.
Camden Fairview Superintendent Fred Lilly said he's aware of Monday's altercation and that his school district will cooperate with the police department.
“In order to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future, CFSD will work with the CPD to ensure that current policies and procedures for all SROs stationed at CFSD schools are reviewed and revised if necessary," Lilly said.
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Boyd said he hopes to reach a decision on the investigation before the end of the week.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.