Incident at Central High School in Providence Under Investigation UPDATED

Thursday, October 26, 2017

GoLocalProv News Team

A video showing a Central High School administrator appearing to pin a student to the ground -- with his knee on his chest -- has reportedly prompted an investigation by school and law enforcement officials.

"I saw this video, and I immediately reached out to the city and school officials," said Pilar McCloud, the Chair of the NAACP Providence Youth Branch, on Wednesday.

McCloud said she was told there were events leading up to the video -- as well as following -- that have prompted the investigation.

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Response to Video

"Look, we need answers. Folks are seeing this video and want to know what happened," said McCloud. "If the student did in fact to something prior, where was the [School Resource Officer]? Is there even one?"

"And I want to know why this use of force was justified," said McCloud. "It would have been a different story, a different reaction, if a student was injured like this in a Barrington, or East Greenwich."

Providence School Department Responds

The Providence School Department responded to GoLocal's request for comment on Wednesday afternoon:

"We at Providence Public Schools were alarmed and dismayed by the physical altercation in the cafeteria at Central High School on Monday involving a student and an assistant principal. The district immediately contacted the police and put the assistant principal on administrative leave, pending a personnel review. Additionally, the school district has explicitly requested that police investigate the incident in its entirety," said PPSD spokesperson Laura Hart.

Editor's Note: GoLocal is not publishing the video, in the event the student caught on video is a minor.

Updated 1:55 PM Wednesday