The horrifying moment a Tennessee high school cop seized and pepper sprayed an 18-year-old after the pupil refused to leave the gym is captured on horrifying video.
On September 20, Tauris Sledge, 18, and East Ridge High School resource officer Tyler McRae got into a fight in the school gym after the deputy was called to mediate a dispute the teen had with the PE teacher. The fight lasted for about an hour.
Sledge claimed to be too sick to play kickball but was afterwards spotted playing basketball. Sledge accused the coach of racism when questioned, and McRae was called in to step in.
Sledge afterwards repeatedly apologized to the coach, increasing his voice in annoyance, saying, “I was feeling unwell.” “I’m going to be up there in the bleachers if I’m feeling unwell.” What exactly are you missing?
Putting his hand on Sledge’s shoulder, MacRae interjected, “Lower your voice, lower your volume.”
While some kids waited on the bleachers and others played basketball, Sledge retorted, “Get your hand off me.” I’ll give you five seconds to remove your hands from me.
MacRae said, “What the f**k are you going to do?”
MacRae then tried to accompany Sledge out of the gym, but the pupil resisted and walked away and went to the bleachers.
As he started to grab Sledge’s neck and back, MacRae yelled, “All right guy, take your bag off.” “Dude, don’t fight me. Don’t fight me.
The frightening video shows MacRae pulling the kid by his hair and yanking him onto the bleachers as his bodycam drops to the ground.
MacRae then ordered the student to remove his rucksack after grabbing the sledge by the strap.
As Sledge yelled for his dad to be summoned, MacRae stated, “I will let you go if you take this sack off.”
Sledge said, “Remove yourself from me,” before relocating away from the officer and dialing his father.
After about a minute, MacRae took out his pepper spray and doused Sledge with it while still demanding that he remove his rucksack.
MacRae tried to tug Sledge’s bag off while pulling him to the group while he remained unconscious for a few seconds.
You’re still going to fight back? MacRae inquired. “You want more, man?” That’s okay since I have the whole can.
Sledge yelled in pain, “Why are you bothering me?” “I can’t breathe,”
After a little while, Sledge’s father appeared serenely outside the gym and listened while MacRae described the circumstance.
The unnamed father then entered the gym to assist his kid in cleaning the pepper spray out of his eyes in the restroom.
Sledge then gave his father his possessions before being handcuffed by MacRae. Disorderly behavior, violence, and resisting arrest were his alleged offenses.
After an inquiry, Hamilton County Schools issued a statement explaining their “commitment” to “keeping schools safe while treating all children with decency and respect.”
Following a nonviolent demonstration on the football field by East Ridge High School students, school administrators declared that creating a learning environment where all pupils feel secure, appreciated, and supported is a shared duty.
School administrators said in their statement that earlier today, “we heard from the students at East Ridge High School during a calm and courteous student-led rally in the school’s football field.”
“It is crucial that we hear the perspectives of people in our classrooms who are directly impacted by our actions,” the author writes. “Just as we listen to those concerns and views from our community.
Austin Garrett, the sheriff of Hamilton County, who supervises Sledge’s work as a school resource policeman, said he was made aware of the event right away and plans to thoroughly investigate it.
Garrett promised the public release of the bodycam video in a statement on September 20 and said, “I appreciate this is a sensitive matter to many in our community.”
The Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office was unable for comment right away.
In the meanwhile, the Chattanooga Clergy for Justice is urging Sheriff Garrett to fire MacRae right now.
According to department officials’ letter, ‘Since 2018, members of the clergy have made numerous attempts to host a meeting between community members and the Hamilton County Sheriff’s Office regarding excessive use of force and hiring policies as well as conditions within Silverdale Detention center.
‘Since our initial report to the department to address these issues, there have been numerous deaths of detainees at Silverdale (including one this week), we have heard from numerous victims of abuse at the hands of HCS Officers, and now we see that Officer Tyler McRae, who has a history of allegations and lawsuits against him for participating in or remaining silent as women, children, and other populations were sexually assaulted by your department, has been involved.
He was taken off the streets and given responsibility for looking after our kids, the department stated. Why was this police officer ever sent to a school as an SRO? No kid should ever feel unsafe in school, regardless of age.