Police in Irving, Texas, are investigating a cop’s use of force after a video showing the cop throwing a student into a lunch cart before pushing him to the ground began circulating on social media, according to police.
The officer has been reassigned while police investigate the incident.
Several students began fighting at the lunch line at Nimitz High School on Wednesday when officers assigned to the school responded, according to a press release from the Irving Police Department. The fight broke out around 12:45 p.m., police said.
in a 18 seconds clip shared on social media and confirmed by police to be from the incident, several students are seen in a school cafeteria, some of them actively fighting each other. Two cops try to break up the fighting.
One of the officers grabs and throws a student into a lunch cart before he falls to the ground. When the student stands up, the officer pushes him back to the ground.
It’s not clear what happened before or after the 18-second clip.
Irving police said the officers used force to separate and detain those involved.
“The Irving Police Department assesses any use of force to ensure that policies and procedures are properly applied,” the department said in the statement. “We have seen video clips of this fight shared on social media and an internal investigation has been launched.”
The officer who pushed the student to the ground twice has since been reassigned, meaning he will not be on the Nimitz High School campus but will continue to work, police spokesman Robert Reeves told NBC News.
As part of the investigation, Irving Police are speaking with the Irving Independent School District and with the father of the student who repeatedly pushed the officer, Reeves said.
The Irving Independent School District did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The students involved in the fight are being referred to the Irving City Courts for a Class C felony of fighting in public under Texas state law, Reeves said.
The investigation into the incident is still ongoing, police said.
Rania Soetirto contributed.