State Watch

Video captures Wisconsin officer kneeling on 12-year-old girl’s neck

Surveillance video released by a Wisconsin school district on Friday captured an off-duty police officer kneeling on a 12-year-old girl’s neck during a lunchtime fight at a school earlier in the month.

The video, taken at a school in Kenosha on March 4, shows police officer Shawn Guetschow breaking up a fight and proceeding to get into a physical confrontation with the girl, The Associated Press reported.

Guetschow, who is also a security guard at the school, fell and hit his head on a table before pushing the girl’s head onto the ground and kneeling on her neck for around 30 seconds, according to the AP. He then handcuffed her and walked her out of the cafeteria.

Jerrel Perez, the father of the girl, is calling for criminal charges against Guetschow, as the type of restraint he used was criminalized in Wisconsin last year. 

Guetschow resigned from his position as a part-time security guard for the school on Tuesday after the Kenosha Unified School District earlier placed him on paid leave, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported, citing the district’s chief communications officer.

Perez said his daughter is in therapy and receiving treatment from a neurologist for her injuries, according to the AP.