An off-duty police officer knelt on a 12-year-old girl’s neck in Kenosha, Wisconsin, while trying to break up a lunchtime fight, as per surveillance footage released by the school district.  

The Kenosha Unified School District released redacted footage, as per New York Post, showing Shawn Guetschow attempting to break up the fight, which took place on March 4. He is seen tussling with the child before kneeling on her neck for a minute and a half. 

The clip, shared by Drake Bentley of the Milwaukee Sentinel, shows two students – one wearing black and the other grey- shoving each other in the Lincoln Middle School cafeteria. The off-duty cop and another staffer can be seen rushing towards them and separating them while they continue trading blows. 

The officer who works security at the school is then seen pulling the girl in white down, pushing her head against the floor, and holding his knee on her neck, before handcuffing and walking her out of the lunchroom. 

Jerrel Perez, the girl’s father, has called for the officer to face criminal charges for using the neck restraint, which was banned for Wisconsin law enforcement officials last year. 

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The father has further said that his daughter is distraught, and in therapy while seeing a neurologist for her injuries. 

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that the 37-year-old was initially placed on administrative leave by the district before he quit the side gig. In his resignation letter, the officer said the district hadn’t shown him any support and the incident had placed a huge burden on his family. 

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As per the Journal Sentinel, he said, “Given the events that have taken place and the escalated attention this incident at Lincoln Middle School has caused in the community, mental and emotional strain it has [brought] upon my family, and the lack of communication and or support I have received from the district, I can no longer continue my employment with the Kenosha Unified School District”. 

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Currently, Guetschow is still employed by the Kenosha Police Department, who released a statement on Twitter saying, “We continue our investigation, paying careful attention to the entire scope of the incident”, and added, “We have no further update at this time”.