The Liberty High school resource officer who was seen on camera slamming a female student to the ground in a January incident will not face criminal charges.
That was the message given by 9th District State Attorney Monique Worrell at a Tuesday press conference at the Osceola County Courthouse.
A video on social media showed Deputy Ethan Fournier throwing the female student down while attempting to arrest her in the aftermath of a fight with another female student. Worrell said the use of force in his "controlled takedown" maneuver did not violate any state laws, and therefore didn't require any charges filed.
However, the incident led to the creation of an Osceola School District task force that is studying the county’s school resource officer program. It created national headlines and cries calling for removing officers from school campuses. But, following the 2018 mass shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida law mandates some sort of armed or police presence on public school campuses.
Fournier has since been removed as Liberty High's SRO.
This is a developing story. Check back for details.
