MIDDLETOWN, Pa. — A Middletown Area School District Resource Officer will not face charges after using a taser on a student during an incident in the Middletown High School Cafeteria in January.
According to Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo, the use of force by the officer was determined to not violate the Crimes Code, and that it was a "permissible use of non-lethal force to prevent the juvenile from continuing to attack another juvenile down the hall."
According to a statement from the school district, around 11:00 a.m. on Jan. 26, a fight broke out during a lunch period.
The district says that in an attempt to get the situation under control, the high school's assistant principal and the District School Resource Officer intervened due to the "escalating nature of the situation."
The district statement noted that during the three minute confrontation, the School Resource Officer used his taser on one of the students involved in the fight.
Several videos of the incident began circulating on social media shortly after the incident.
The school district said in their statement that "these images don't represent the universal values that the Middletown Area School District strive to instill in our student body. They also don't reflect on the staff who are employed to support our students on a daily basis."
Now, nearly four months later, officials say the school resource officer will not face charges.