GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (KREX) — Bystanders reported that last Thursday, two school resource officers responded to a situation where some students at Central High School were arguing and one of them shoved another.
When one of the students insulted Deputy Phillip Peterson, he attempted to escort him to the office. However, the student asked not to be touched and moved away, making the situation violent, according to body camera footage. Deputy Peterson, who has been on the force for three years, choked the juvenile before taking him to the ground, while Officer Michael Hand, a nine-year veteran of the force, threatened to scold the juvenile. student.
Although Deputy Peterson’s dashcam recorded his phone call with the student’s grandmother where she took the officer’s side, what he said doesn’t quite match what s ‘happened. When the student’s grandmother saw the video, she contacted Houston attorney James Roberts of Palmer and Pearlstein Law.
Roberts spoke to the grandmother several times and found that she was upset that she had initially blamed her grandson, thinking he was in the wrong. However, after seeing the video, she realized that the police officer had lied to her. Roberts, who has a young son himself, wanted to help bring justice for the student’s physical and mental injuries because he believes the student should not be portrayed as a thug or someone who is doing badly.
It should be noted that Colorado does not have a qualified immunity law that protects law enforcement from individual liability. Roberts emphasized that, in his experience, Colorado officers and agencies tend to do the right thing and accept responsibility.
So far, the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office has said it is aware of the incident and videos posted on social media and takes matters involving use of force seriously. They engaged their professional standards unit to conduct a thorough internal investigation.
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