NH School Resource Officer Accused Of Using Excessive Force
MANCHESTER, NH (CBS) - A high school student in Manchester, New Hampshire is accusing his school resource officer of using excessive force.
It happened Monday when 17-year-old Frank Harrington was arrested in the cafeteria at Manchester West High School and it was caught on video.
Harrington and his mom say that video clearly shows a detective using excessive force against him.
"The detective turned around and looked at me picked me up from my hair, jerked me around, threw me on the table," Frank told WBZ-TV. He says it hurt, but he wasn't injured.
The arrest was videotaped by Frank's friend and posted on a website called www.copblock.org. In the video you hear him argue with teachers telling him to stop recording.
It all began with a dispute over whether Frank took his sister's bag. When school officials told Frank to give it back, he refused and swore at them. The principal called the school Detective Darren Murphy, the school resource officer.
"He came over he told me to give her back the purse I told him no. I said it's my sister's I don't have to," Frank explained.
Murphy's report says Harrington used profane language and resisted arrest, causing a commotion in the cafeteria. The affidavit read, "He tried pulling away from me...I told Harrington several times to stop resisting."
Frank's mom has filed a complaint with Manchester Police Department. She admits her son shouldn't have been swearing, but insists there is no excuse for the treatment he received.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Bernice Corpuz reports
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"That was too excessive for what was the issue," she maintains. "There's a point in time to use excessive force and this clearly wasn't the time or place."
Manchester Police would not comment on the case. A press release indicates it is under investigation.
Frank Harrington has been suspended from school. The superintendent says he takes the case and what he saw in the video very seriously, but says it is too soon for him to judge whether the officer's behavior was appropriate.
