I just saw this (warning, it’s very disturbing)…
With tears in my eyes and anger in my heart, I'm mostly at a loss for words. How can anyone do this to another, especially an adult assaulting a child? How can someone like joshua kehm be hired as a peace officer in the first place, let alone be placed in a school to deal with children?
It's late and I don't have the time or energy to write a big long diary about this, but the video of kehm’s assault on the defenseless child speaks for itself. 12 year old Janessa is apparently knocked unconscious for no good reason. According to a CBS News article,
Gloria Valdez, the 12-year-old girl's mother, told CBS affiliate KENS it was completely uncalled for.
"Supposedly he was threatened by her that she kicked him, but in the video her legs never went up," Valdez said.
Valdez's daughter did not want to go on camera but told KENS that she was having a conversation with another girl when a crowd surrounded them. She said that's when the officer put his hands on her.
In recognition of his below and beyond the call of duty contribution to society, officer joshua kehm, who is currently on paid vacation, deserves nothing better than a multi-year unpaid vacation in a cold brightly lit prison cell. It stands to reason that young Janessa might be scarred for life by this terrifying assault. Perhaps kehm’s conviction might help her to feel a little better a little sooner.
The only reason for police to be in schools is to insure the school to prison pipeline continues unabated. For every incident that gets recorded, there are countless others which aren't. It's time to get police out of schools for good -- and forever.