Officials to police: Girl restrained to protect students
(AP) — Two white southeast Missouri school officials who are being sued by a black teenager said in a newly released police report that they physically restrained the girl because she was trying to fight another student.
The lawsuit alleges that then-assistant Cape Girardeau Central High School Principal Chris Kase and the school's athletic director, Lance Tollison, grabbed the then-14-year-old girl and slammed her to the ground.
Kase, now principal of the high school, told police he attempted to restrain Harris after she said, "Come on, come on," toward a student who got off a school bus crying.
Cape Girardeau police officer Joseph Tado said the video shows Tollison acting in a controlled and restrained manner while trying to keep Harris from assaulting other students and school-district staff.