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A school resource officer was forced to use his taser gun to subdue an unruly tenth grader Friday morning at Red Bank High School.
It was the first time an officer has ever stunned a student at a Hamilton County School.
The quite at Red Bank High School was disrupted Friday morning...when a fight between a student and an SRO ended with a Tasing.
Hamilton County Sgt. Max Templeton says, "He was going through the school cursing loudly and causing a disruption."
The student was enrolled in the Washington Alternative School for a previous Zero Tolerance Violation.
He was only at Red Bank to take a test.
The student was ordered to stay in the office or cafeteria, but he refused, saying he had a problem with another student and was going to find him.
Templeton says, "If you can bring a person under control with just restraint then that would be the way to go. But if it's a person of size and you're having trouble bringing them under control trying to use restraint, then it's time to go to the Taser."
The SRO was called and tried to restrain the student.
When he broke free the officer warned him to get on the floor and stop resisting.
Templeton says, "I think this generation is having some problems with authority figures."
The SRO drew his Taser and warned the student to comply.
Hamilton Co. Schools Spokesperson Danielle Clarke says, "Striking an officer is considered a zero tolerance offense and this student will be suspended pending the outcome of this hearing."
Despite the severity of this incident, discipline problems and zero tolerance infractions are down in Hamilton Co. Schools.
All district SROs carry Tasers and use them as a last resort to bring people under control.
Sgt. Templeton says using a Taser on a juvenile is the same as using it on an adult.
Templeton says, "Its all about bringing someone under control without having to hurt them."
And he says hopefully won't happen again, "When they realize that its not play, and it hurts, it does hurt. Maybe they'll decide to be compliant when they're asked to be compliant rather than us having to go to those measures."
The student was taken to Children's Hospital as a precaution.
He is charged with criminal trespassing, disorderly conduct, simple assault and resisting arrest.
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