FL White deputy caught on video punching black teen, slamming head on pavement
A sheriff’s deputy in Florida is on restricted duty after being caught on video punching a black teen in the head after he was pepper-sprayed and slamming his face into the pavement, video shows.
The Broward County deputy, Christopher Krickovich, is seen in footage circulating on social media platforms punching an unidentified 15-year-old boy in the back of the head after repeatedly slamming his face into the ground during an incident Thursday near J.P. Taravella High School.
Broward County Sheriff Gregory Tony said Friday that Krickovich has since been placed on “restrictive administrative assignment” as an investigation is conducted.
“We will look at this as a fact-finding measure to ensure that we hold folks accountable,” Tony said in a videotaped statement. “This may take some time for us to look thoroughly into, but understand that we will be transparent and if folks need to be held accountable, it shall be done. So please be patient with us.”
Witnesses at the scene — where 200-plus students gathered after rumors that a fight was set to break out, according to Krickovich’s report — can be heard screaming as the rough arrest unfolded.
“What are you doing?!” one woman shouts. “He’s bleeding!”
Krickovich said in an arrest affidavit obtained by the Miami Herald that the incident erupted when a large group of students began “yelling, threatening us and surrounding us” outside the school. One teen was taken into custody on trespassing charges after being involved in a fight there a day earlier. The second teen, meanwhile, was taken to the ground as the unruly group surrounded the deputies, Krickovich wrote.
“I had to act quickly fearing I would get struck or having a student potentially grab weapons off of my belt vest,” the arrest report read.
Two teens were arrested in connection with the incident, including one who was charged with assaulting an officer and obstruction without violence. A judge later downgraded the assaulting an officer count against the 15-year-old, who had no prior criminal history, WPLG reports.
Krickovich acknowledged that he was able to subdue the teen after he “struck the male in the right side of his head with a closed fist” as a distraction, WTVJ reports.
Other witnesses said deputies arrived at the school and threatened students in the crowd with pepper spray while ordering them to leave the area.
“The next thing you know, his head started bleeding and everything, and while he was getting handcuffed, lil bro got punched in the face by police,” one student told the station.
Another witness told WPLG that the deputies went “way too far” during the arrests.
The mayor of Broward County, Mark Bogen, said Krickovich should be fired and potentially prosecuted for his actions.
“The entire issue has to do with one word: resistance,” Bogen tweeted Monday. “In law enforcement if the alleged perpetrator is not resisting, then there is no justification to use force. When the student was on the ground, he did not resist at all.”
The video shows that the officer “had no justification” for smashing the teen’s head into the cement and punching him in the head, according to Bogen, who called on prosecutors to look into whether battery charges against Krickovich are warranted.