Police officer resigns after video shows him using excessive force on an 11-year-old girl

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Video of a school resource officer wrestling with and restraining a crying 11-year-old girl is getting new attention this week after it was announced that the officer resigned amid continued criticism over his use of excessive force on a child.

The anger stems from an August 27 incident at New Mexico’s Mesa View Middle School where the now-former officer, identified as Zachary Christensen of the Farmington Police Department, tried to force the girl’s arms behind her, pushing her into the side of the school building and slamming her to the ground in the process. Christensen said the girl had violated several school rules after standing on a school bus, taking too many milks at the school cafeteria, and picking at a sign taped to a door. Christensen also alleged that the girl had assaulted the school’s principal, a claim that has since been proven to be untrue.

A recording of the incident, which was captured by Christensen’s lapel cam after it fell to the ground, shows the officer shoving the 11-year-old against the building and pushing her to the ground when she tries to stand. The girl can be heard crying and pleading with the officer to let her go as Christensen yells at her to “stop resisting.”

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But it was when the girl opens a door that the school principal is standing in front of, brushing against him in the process, that the officer approaches her and begins to use force, claiming that the girl had committed assault as she moved past. Christensen also claimed that the student assaulted him during the encounter, writing in an incident report that “She was very strong, stronger than I was.”

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