Prosecutors say off-duty policemen who work as security guards at Proviso West High School are accused of assaulting honorary students in front of class-Chicago Tribune

2021-12-13 10:20:35 By : Ms. Monica J

On Sunday, a judge in Cook County released a fledgling suburban policeman on bail after prosecutors said he broke into the honors classroom of Proviso West High School and after he ordered a teenager not to paint on a whiteboard Throw a student around.

However, when security guard Eligh Skinner suddenly entered the class and told him to stop and return to his desk, the unidentified 17-year-old student got permission from his Honorary Citizens class teacher to draw on the whiteboard , The prosecutor told the judge in a hearing. The bail hearing is broadcast on YouTube.

According to the authorities, the student refused and told Skinner that he could draw on the blackboard.

Skinner, 25, from Bellwood, faced serious assault and official misconduct charges in connection with the incident at Hillside High School on Friday, and then allegedly threw a discouraged dodge ball at the student. As well as a bottle of lotion and a bottle of water, Assistant State Attorney Christa Peterson told the court.

Peterson said that all three things hit the students, but he didn't respond. Skinner then threw a marker from the student's hand and tried to catch the other when the teenager picked up the second one.

Skinner, a Phoenix suburban policeman "in training," was listed in court documents as 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighing 210 pounds. Then Skinner allegedly grabbed the student by the shoulders and chest and took him He lifted up from the chair and was shot a moment later. Peterson said that he covered his chest with his hands and grabbed his sweater.

She added that the student tried to punch but failed.

"The defendant then threw the victim on the table, then the table, and finally the ground," Peterson said. According to the authorities, Skinner was subsequently accused of holding down the boy, placing his knees on the boy’s chest, and holding his upper body and neck with his arms. The shocked students watched and recorded the incident on their mobile phones. Peterson said the teenager was short of breath.

After releasing the students, Skinner was later arrested by the Hillside police. Peterson said that during his detention, he admitted to throwing things at the students, but claimed that the teenager "rushed at him." The authorities said that in the police interview, the teenager's teacher and classmates said Skinner was the main attacker.

Skinner's lawyer Richard Blass said his client was an active Phoenix police officer who was deprived of police power and weapons. Blass said when requesting personal guarantee that Skinner graduated from Proviso West in 2015 and had no previous criminal record and had served as a part-time official in Franklin Park.

Judge Kelly Marie McCarthy released Skinner on bail of $500 and ordered him not to contact students or the campus during the case. On Sunday, reporters were unable to reach Phoenix police officials for comment.

Proviso Township High School District 209 posted a short statement on its website expressing support for the student. "This attack was unprovoked. We will not tolerate anyone treating our scholars in this way," the statement read. "We arrested (the school resource officer) immediately."

Skinner is scheduled to return to court next week.