POMPANO BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) - Newly-released body camera footage is shedding light on a controversial rough arrest at a high school in Pompano Beach.
Seventeen-year-old Jordan Bennett, a student at Blanche Ely High, claims a Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy used excessive force while trying to subdue him back in Feb. 21.
However, the body camera video released Monday showed a different picture.
In the first clip, Blanche Ely’s BSO resource officer is seen walking Bennett through what appears to be the school’s cafeteria after, BSO said, he tried to choke a janitor.
The teen could be seen struggling to free himself from the deputy’s grip.
“Let me go. I’m straight,” Bennett is heard telling the deputy.
“Calm down, Jordan!” the school’s assistant principal is heard in the body cam video.
Meanwhile, the deputy is seen trying to control the student’s hands.
The footage then shows Bennett and the deputy on the ground wrestling. The teen is then seen hitting his head as he is slammed to the ground.
Bennett’s injuries are clear, as blood could be seen on the floor.
Cellphone video recorded by another student showed Bennett in a chokehold.
Broward Sheriff Gregory Tony weighed in on that video at a press conference last week.
“The video footage is clear. He becomes aggressive, he becomes hostile, he snatches away, flailing his arms and elbows towards the deputy, and he begins to lunge for the school board official,” he said.
But Bennett’s attorney, Jasmine Rand, claimed he was roughed up by the deputy for no reason.
She said Bennett suffered a laceration to his face that required stitches.
“There’s no need to have a child in a continued chokehold, especially not after you smash his head on the concrete,” said Rand.
The attorney placed BSO on notice of their intent to sue.
But Tony indicated the resource officer did everything right.
“That’s part of the repercussions when you are violating the law,” he said, “when you’re aggressive, when you are hostile and deputies are forced to engage you to restrain you.”
The body cam video goes on to show Bennett in handcuffs in the assistant principal’s office. The assistant principal is seen scolding the student.
Moments later, the deputy is heard addressing the student.
“Dude, I’m so upset with you, man,” said the SRO. “You guys are ridiculous. You should know better. Now you’re calm?”
Tony has since said there will not be an internal investigation into the matter.
Bennett was not arrested and will not face any charges, according to his attorney.
His mother said he still has a scar above his left eyebrow and is recovering.
It remains unclear whether they intend to go through with the lawsuit now that the body cam video has surfaced.
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