Lawyer: Student slammed to floor suffered concussion

RALEIGH, N.C. -- A student who was slammed to the floor by a police officer in a North Carolina high school has suffered a concussion and may have other related health issues, her lawyer said Thursday.

Jasmine Darwin is having headaches, vision problems and other issues associated with a concussion, said lawyer Freddy Rabner of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Darwin, who was a student at Rolesville High School, sought treatment at a hospital twice and has follow-up appointments with several specialists, he said.

"She's a little 100-pound girl who was whipped to the ground so hard, she's sore everywhere," Rabner said in a telephone interview. "She's a mess. She's in pain."

A brief video posted on Twitter showed a police officer lifting and dropping a girl on her left side, then pulling her to her feet and leading her away.

The student who took the video, Ahunna Akpuda, has said Darwin was trying to break up a fight between Darwin's sister and another girl.

The video doesn't show what led up to or followed the episode.

Akpuda said the officer arrived a few seconds after the girl tried to break up the fight.

The officer, identified by Rolesville officials as Ruben De Los Santos, is on paid administrative leave. Police chief Bobby Langston said he has asked the State Bureau of Investigation to review the case.

Town officials have declined to answer additional questions, including whether De Los Santos has an attorney.

The Associated Press was unable to reach the officer by phone or email.

The officer is Hispanic, and Darwin is black, Mayor Frank Eagles said.

The officer has been assigned to the school since it opened in 2013, Eagles said. About 2,200 students in grades nine through 12 attend the school.

The video prompted a coalition of advocates for young people to ask federal officials again to respond to a complaint they originally filed more than six years ago.

Groups including Legal Aid of North Carolina wrote Thursday to the Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights, renewing concerns about the treatment of students in Wake County schools.

The original complaint filed in September 2010 alleges Wake County schools discriminate racially when they mete out discipline.