Stratford High School arrest caught on video draws support for officer

HOUSTON - Caught on camera - an arrest that turned violent on the normally peaceful campus of Spring Branch ISD's Stratford High School.

In the video captured by a cell phone a Spring Branch Police officer handcuffs one student and then attempts to apprehend a second.
That's when the situation escalates and the officer feels compelled to throw the 18 year old student to the ground.

When the student continues to struggle the video shows the officer drawing pepper spray and blasting the teenager's face.

Fox 26 has learned the incident erupted when the two students repeatedly disregarded orders from a principal and the officer to leave campus.

"He refused arrest and he was on campus when he wasn't supposed to be," said Bill Allen Boyable, a Stratford student.

Both the student who submitted to arrest and the student who resisted face criminal charges.

The officer's use of force is under review, but appears warranted given the struggle and the fact that the student had one handcuff dangling from an arm that could be used as a weapon.

On the Stratford campus reaction was mixed.

"He shouldn't have sprayed him with pepper spray because he was on the ground already," said Jason Kemp.
"He was confronting police and saying you can't arrest him and police said back off and he wouldn't. He just kept on going at it," said  Amir Ashori, also a Stratford student.