CONTACT: Tom Hargis, 832.291.4776, [email protected]
AUSTIN – New details emerged yesterday in the case of Noe Nino de Rivera, the Texas high school student who was tased by a school resource officer on school grounds, resulting in hospitalization and brain damage. A security video demonstrates that de Rivera was not displaying aggressive behavior toward the officer, a Bastrop County deputy sheriff, and in fact may have been backing away. At a press conference this morning, his family and attorney, Adam Loewy, explained that Noe is struggling with memory, speech, balance, and emotional issues as a result of the Taser injury.
Statement from Matt Simpson, policy strategist for the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas:
“The state of Texas should do everything in its power to ensure that no family endures a tragedy like this again,” said Matthew Simpson, policy strategist for the ACLU of Texas. “The ACLU of Texas joins the call for a prompt statewide review of use of force on students in our public schools, which is more common than most Texans realize. Specialized training for officers stationed in schools and basic accountability measures, such as systematic statewide reporting of use of force, are the best approaches to avoid these tragic situations in our schools.”
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More background:
The ACLU of Texas and six other civil rights and social justice organizations ask the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement to end use of so-called “less-than-lethal weapons” in school districts (Dec. 5, 2013)
View the letter to the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement
ACLU of Texas’s 2011 report on use of force in schools
