via Wikimedia
Child abuse doesn’t only happen in homes.
It can happen at the hands of someone entrusted with another child’s safety. And in a room at a special needs school in Pompano Beach, FL, Willard Miller of the Broward County Sheriff’s Office did the unthinkable: he abused a child.
The Independent reports that at Cross Creek School, “For about a minute, Mr. Miller, can be seen talking to the girl before he lunges towards her, grabs her neck and throws her to the ground on her back.”
Miller is facing a felony charge of child abuse and has been released on a $5,000 bond. What he did is absolutely disgusting and furthermore highlights the way police are often abusive towards school kids - particularly Black children.
Sheriff Gregory Tony condemned the officer’s actions: “Whatever type of verbal dialogue was going on, it makes no sense and it wasn't necessary.”
He went on to say, “The byproduct of his actions were deplorable… They were uncalled for and they violated multiple policies just on the optics.”
While he faced consequences, not all police do.
The incident not only shows the kind of violence children can face in schools, but also shows that the problems we face regarding police are much deeper than just white cops. Hopefully more cops will be held accountable - clearly, there’s a long way to go first.