An 8-year-old boy was traumatized and his family was forced to move after a school resource officer in Wyoming assaulted him.
The boy, identified as J.D., was 8 years old at the time of the incident, which occurred in February 2022 at Freedom Elementary School on Francis E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne.
J.D. has an Individualized Education Program (IEP) in place because of his "diagnosed neurodivergent disability," according to a federal lawsuit filed by his parents.
On the day of the incident, J.D. was in the principal's office for lunch recess as part of his behavior plan. The principal and J.D.'s teacher were trying to speak to him about what he said to a cashier in the lunchroom.
As the principal and teacher discussed whether J.D. should apologize to the cashier, a school resource officer named Deputy Benjamin Jacquot was conducting a "random 'security check'" nearby.
J.D. was listening to the principal peacefully and quietly in the beginning of Jacquot's body camera footage, the complaint says.
When J.D. walked away from the principal and tried to go to class, Jacquot is accused of grabbing J.D.'s arm in the next portion of the body camera footage that the complaint says was deleted.
Then, Jacquot "wrestled J.D. into a nearby conference room using an armlock" before repeatedly slamming his face on the floor, causing J.D.'s face to bleed, according to the complaint.
Jacquot, who weighed over 280 pounds, is accused of climbing on top of J.D., pinning him down and restricting his breathing, according to the complaint.
The "undeleted" body camera footage shows J.D. "pinned underneath Deputy Jacquot while J.D. screams and cries in pain and fear," the complaint says.
Jacquot is accused of using a prone restraint on J.D., according to the lawsuit, which says this method is banned in Wyoming schools.
On video, Jacquot is heard screaming at J.D., telling him, "I should be taking you to jail!," the complaint says.
At some point, the principal called J.D.'s father to come to school, according to the complaint.
When he arrived, he spoke with Jacquot and questioned the way he handled his son at lunch recess, accusing Jacquot of violating J.D.'s IEP when his son wasn't a threat, the complaint says.
"Because, as a law enforcement officer, that's my primary function," Jacquot was heard saying in the video, according to the complaint.
Jacquot is accused of deleting portions of his body camera footage immediately after the assault and accessing J.D.'s private school records to include excerpts in an incident report, the complaint says.
According to the lawsuit, the school restricted Jacquot's access to students' private records following the incident.
.J.D. is now under the care of a child psychologist, attends a school for children "with emotional disturbances," and fears law enforcement officials as a result of the assault, according to the complaint.
With their lawsuit, J.D.'s parents demand a trial by jury.
"No child should be subjected to the brutality and humiliation this 8-year-old boy endured at the hands of any adult, let alone a police officer who is sworn to uphold the law and protect the rights of citizens," the family's attorneys said.
"A part of that rebuilding and healing process is going to require Deputy Jacqout and his department to take accountability for what they did to this child, his parents and the community at large," the attorneys added.
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