Protesting Tolman High students pepper sprayed by police

Students tend to one another after being pepper sprayed by Pawtucket Police. Photo by Steve Klamkin WPRO News

By Sam Wroblewski 630wpro.com

Several people were arrested and high school students pepper sprayed after a student protest of alleged police brutality escalated Thursday morning.

The protest was a reaction to a video which surfaced Wednesday showing a police officer handcuffing a student on the ground before reaching out and grabbing another student by the neck and slamming him to the ground.

In a statement, Pawtucket Police said the recorded incident stemmed from a 14-year-old student who was reportedly shouting obscenities in the halls. When detained the student began punching furniture and the walls and shoved a School Resource Officer.

While the officer was attempting to manage the situation, the boy’s 17-year-old brother entered the office and punched the officer. The 17-year-old was taken to the ground and handcuffed when his younger brother pushed back and was body slammed to the ground.

By this time a crowd had collected outside the office and the video was taken.

The next day, several hundred students gathered outside the school and refused to return to class. Principle Christopher Savastano urged students to return to class, saying a delegation of three to five students could go to City Hall to meet with Mayor Don Grebien to defuse the situation.

While students were inside City Hall, police say a single juvenile smashed the window of a nearby car. The juvenile was arrested, causing the crowd to move to the private parking lot of the business Granite City. Some members of the group became disorderly and began interfering with arrests. Police say one officer used pepper spray to gain control of the situation.

Luis Cardoso, a parent of a Toman High student said police are taking the wrong approach to the situation.

“Talk to them in a respectable manner and the kids will give respect too; but if you disrespect how do you expect these kids to act?” said Cardoso.

In total, eight juveniles and two adults were arrested.

A Pawtucket police officer brandishes pepper spray at students following a protest at Tolman High School October 15, 2015. Still from video by Steve Klamkin WPRO News
A Pawtucket police officer brandishes pepper spray at students following a protest at Tolman High School October 15, 2015. Still from video by Steve Klamkin WPRO News

Watch a video of the moments leading up to the pepper spraying incident below, and the video which kicked off the protest.

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