A Tennessee school resource officer (SRO), Tyler McRae, has stepped down after a viral video of a nearly hour-long struggle with East Ridge High School student Tauris Sledge, 18, surfaced, leaving viewers to form many opinions on the incident.
McRae was called into the school gymnasium to intervene in an argument between a gym teacher and Sledge on Sept. 20. McRae’s bodycam recorded the entire altercation from the moment he confronted the gym teacher and Sledge on the matter. Sledge told his gym teacher that he wasn’t feeling well enough to play kickball but was seen playing basketball moments later, prompting the teacher to confront Sledge for not following instructions. When confronted, Sledge accused the coach of racism and for not speaking to him with respect.
“So I come to him and said to hold up, ‘you said you was sick,’ and he said, ‘Don’t approach me like that.’ I said, ‘I’m a teacher; I can talk to you how I want to,'” the coach explained.
During the conversation heard in the video, the gym teacher tells McRae he tried to “give him [Sledge] a one-on-one.” Still, the student continued to be disrespectful and allegedly instigated a heated argument between the two.
“He sort of bucks me and come at me into my face,” the coach said. “And he won’t talk to me, and he says you’re racist mother fucker. I’ll kick your fuking ass.”
“I was feeling sick,’ Sledge explained to his teacher. “If I’m feeling sick, I’m gonna be up there on the bleachers. What is you not understanding,” Sledge said.
“Lower your voice, lower your voice,” McRae said placing his hand on Sledge’s shoulder.
“Get your hand off me,” Sledge said to McRae. “You got five seconds to get your hands off me,” he adds.
“What the f*ck are you going to do?” McRae questioned.
Refusing to leave with the SRO, Sledge ignores McRae and proceeds to walk away towards the bleachers as McRae attempted to escort him out of the gym.
“All right, man, take your backpack off,” McRae said as he reached for the student’s neck. “Don’t resist me, dude. Don’t resist me.”
The disturbing footage shows McRae’s bodycam move quickly as he pulled Sledge by his hair and yanked him down the bleachers.
“You’re still going to resist?” McRae saidto Sledge. “You want some more dude? That’s fine because I have a whole can,” he said while massing Sledge.
“Why are you harassing me?” Sledge asked in pain from the mase. “I can’t breathe.”
During the altercation, Sledge is seen calling his father, and moments later, Sledge’s father, who did not give his name soon arrived and calmly listened to McRae as he explained the matter.
The bodycam shows Sledge’s father walking inside the gym after talking with the SRO to help his son remove the pepper spray from his eyes. The 18-year-old was arrested after and charged with disorderly conduct, assault, and resisting arrest.
According to Atlanta Black Star, Tim McCrae’s attorney has requested to have the officer removed as a school resource officer at East Ridge High School and back on street patrol– the courts have approved.
According to Daily Mail, students and the Chattanooga justice office want McRae removed from the school.
“‘Since our initial report to address these issues with the department, there have been multiple deaths of incarcerated individuals at Silverdale (including one this week), we have heard from multiple victims about abuse at the hands of HCS Officers, and now we see that Officer Tyler McRae, who has a history of accusations and lawsuits against him for participating or standing silently by as women, children, and other populations were sexually assaulted by your department officers’, is involved in an incident of excessive force against a child.,” Chattanooga Clergy department officials wrote.
Students have protested in honor of Sledge’s arrest, calling the altercation between McRae their final straw.
