In 2020, Kenosha, Wisconsin became a focal point for racist violence in the United States. It was there that an innocent Black man named Jacob Blake was shot several times by Kenosha police officers during a domestic call, and later, protests erupted across not only the city but the nation.
Then, a White teen who was photo’d with White supremacists – Kyle Rittenhouse – shot and killed two unarmed protestors as he took it upon himself to patrol the streets in order to, as he claimed in court, protect businesses from rioters. Rittenhouse was acquitted.
Now Kenosha is at the center of yet another controversy involving an officer after an off-duty cop reportedly restrained a 12-year-old Black girl at a middle school by placing his knee on her neck.
NEW: This is @KenoshaPolice Officer Shawn Guetschow, who was seen pinning a student to the floor with his knee on the 12-year-old's neck. @kusd shared video surveillance video from the cafeteria of the moments before. New story posting shortly. @WISN12News #kenosha #kneeonneck pic.twitter.com/yRMtkejSS9
— Derrick Rose (@DRoseTV) March 18, 2022
According to reports, the incident took place at Lincoln Middle School where Officer Shawn Guetschow worked as a part-time security guard. There was reportedly a fight in the cafeteria and Guestochow is seen on surveillance video restraining the 12-year-old with the knee technique that has been widely criticized. The Kenosha Police Department shared a statement to Twitter.
Watch:
” KPD is aware of Shawn Guetschow’s resignation from the school district and the verbal notice of claim made by an attorney representing the student,” they wrote. “Guetschow is still employed with KPD. We continue our investigation, paying careful attention to the entire scope of the incident. We have no further update at this time.”
Drew DeVinney is the attorney representing the child’s father and claimed that the girl alleged she told Guetschow she couldn’t breathe but he continued to press down on her neck with his knee. The father alleged that his daughter suffered injuries and is “traumatized” by the incident. This polarizing moment has caused a debate online as people picked sides as to who is at fault.
