I like this answer
Often times schools misuse the Resource officers and the Resource officers forget they aren't there to enforce "house rules" but enforce the law and maintain order. However, there is a point when it would become criminal. If the administrator informed the officer she is being expelled and to remove her from the school property, then it is criminal trespass at that point and the officer has legal authority. If it were just to take her to the office.. that would not be his job.
Even if the officer has legal authority and could justify the use of force based on the "use of force protocols" it doesn't mean that he needs to resort to using force. Officers should exercise their biggest muscle - the brain - before resorting to body-slams. If an officer doesn't have
common sense then he shouldn't be an officer.
Was this guy justified in his action? It's possible, but I lean on this being excessive. Going only based on the video - no idea what happened before - I'd say that his actions were, at the very least, bad from a "PR" point of view: he shows kids that cops are nothing but bullies with a badge. But, more importantly, to me it shows someone who's not in control of himself or the situation.
Remember that he's dealing with a child that is,
at worse, guilty of trespassing by refusing to leave. Throwing the desk back, as he did, could have resulted in a devastating head injury when the back of the student's skull impacted the floor. We're not talking a small bruise here - we're talking life-altering traumatic brain injury. What about the fact that those desks are flimsy as fuck and one piece of metal snapping off could have easily resulted in the girl, himself or others being badly injured.
"Was this a reasonable use of force? Was his action justified? Should he be disciplined? Fired? Prosecuted" are all questions that we should ask. Not just in this case, but in
every case when a cop resorts to force, because the authority to use force isn't be a blanket mandate to do so, and because we should not tolerate thugs because of a badge. And frankly, we shouldn't tolerate the chorus of cops and unions bosses that pop up and start riverdancing to "Afraid for his life! Cops face danger all the time!" across the thin blue line.