Florida teen Taylor Bracey is still feeling the side effects of the injuries she sustained when a school resource officer forcibly brought her down to the ground at Liberty High School in Kissimmee, Florida earlier this week.
On Friday (Jan. 29), Bracey’s mother, Jamesha, told WFTV in Orlando that the 16-year-old is experiencing headaches, restlessness at night, and even memory loss in the aftermath of the excessive force she felt during her encounter with School Resource Officer Ethan Fournier. In a brief clip of the altercation, we can see Fournier slam Bracey to the ground, headfirst. Bracey appeared to be knocked out as she was picked up from the floor.
According to Bracey’s mother, the teen is “experiencing headaches, blurry vision, memory loss, having trouble sleeping on and off, and just traumatized by the ordeal.” She also says that the argument her daughter was involved with was strictly verbal. Neither her daughter nor the other girl touched one another.
Soon after the video went viral, the Osceola Sheriff’s Department put out a statement, in which they said that Officer Fournier was trying to prevent Bracey from fighting the other student. Nonetheless, Fournier was placed on administrative leave. The Osceola Sheriff’s Department has also turned Fournier’s case over to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, who will determine whether or not the school resource officer will face criminal charges.
Attorney Ben Crump, who now represents the Bracey family, believes the offending officer should face more consequences. He asserts that this kind of behavior from officers sworn to protect children is “not okay.”
“Teenagers often do get in disputes,” Crump said. “Sometimes they have fights, but it doesn’t justify you slamming her to the ground and knocking her out. You’re supposed to be the adult.”
Read Ben Crump’s statement about the incident below.