The family of a Florida girl is demanding that a school worker who beat their 16-year-old daughter with the body be fired for his actions, according to NBC News.
Earlier in the week images of an incident between Deputy Ethan Fournier and 16-year-old Taylor Bracey went viral and had Fournier slammed Bracey to the floor outside Liberty High School in Osceola County, Fla.
Bracey’s head hit the floor during the meeting.
Bracey’s mother told NBC that her daughter has had headaches, blurred vision and amnesia since the incident. “(We are) just angry and want justice served,” said her mother, Jamesha Bracey. Bracey told her mother she had been knocked unconscious and her mother said the school would not tell her what happened first.
“The person who should be protecting her is the person who assaulted her,” said prominent civil rights lawyer Ben Crump. “This is especially a problem in the African-American community, as we often see them using this excessive force on our children.”
Crump, who has represented the families of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, recently took on Bracey’s case.
Sheriff Marcos Lopez claimed the girl was not injured during the meeting in a press conference. “In my opinion it was a disruption to a school function,” Lopez said. The student did not obey legal orders. She went after another student. ‘
Crump says that Lopez’s description of the events is incorrect and that no physical fight ever took place. There was a verbal altercation. Taylor never touched anyone and then this cop does what we see in that video, ”said Crump.
David Bigney, the officer’s attorney, said that “Unfortunately, sometimes a situation rises to the level where violence is justified and necessary” and that videos posted on the Internet in this way never tell the full story.
Fournier took paid time off because the investigation was turned over to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
The Hill has contacted Crump’s office for comment.