An Arkansas police officer is on leave after video filmed Monday shows him holding a high school student in a chokehold while working as a school resource officer. "Effective immediately, Officer (Jake) Perry has been relieved of duty pending an investigation,” Camden Police Chief Boyd Woody said in a news release posted on Facebook Monday. Perry was shown on video holding the student NBC News identified as Dekyrion Ellis in a chokehold for at least 10 seconds before the officer loosened his grip. Ellis told the news network he "wasn't resisting arrest" and that the officer could have simply taken him to the office. "As the Police Chief, I will not tolerate misconduct from my officers and this matter will be dealt with accordingly,” Woody said in his statement, “and I will be transparent in doing so."
The encounter unfolded at Camden Fairview High School, which is located in the city of Camden about 100 miles south of Little Rock. Ellis told NBC affiliate KTVE the officer was responding to an argument the teen was having with a friend that had escalated to shoves. Ellis said the other student hit him initially and he responded with a push. “Then he pushed me and I pushed him harder to where he fell on the ground,” Ellis said. “That’s when the kids started grabbing me and him.”
The officer intervened soon after, and Ellis said the situation got out of control, KTVE reported. “The police officer pushed the kids off of me and he grabbed me and started choking me against the glass,” Ellis told the news station. In video of the incident, Ellis appeared to be trying to peel the officer’s arm from around his neck when the officer could be heard saying, “let go of me.” Another student can be heard shouting: “He finna go to sleep.” Ellis told KTVE after the incident that he feared for his life. “I didn’t know what was going to happen. I blacked out,” he said. “I really didn’t see anything until he took me back to the office.”