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Bodycam Video Released Of Student Takedown At Blanche Ely High School

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - The Broward Sheriff's Office released bodycam video of deputy taking down a Blanche Ely High School student at the school cafeteria back in February of this year resulting in injuries to the student.

The incident took place inside the Pompano Beach school on February 21st at around 4:30 p.m.

The first redacted video shows the student, identified as 17-year-old Jordan Bennett, as he is being led away from the cafeteria by a Broward Sheriff's Office deputy.

The student is heard repeatedly saying, "Let me go, I am straight, bro." At this point, the teen is seen moving his hands around and when the deputy grabs his right hand, the teen frees himself and that is when he is taken down to the floor.

TEEN TAKEDOWN AT BLANCHE ELY:

 

The actual takedown was not captured by the officer's body cam. All we see is the back of the black sweater or shirt worn by the student and then you hear the reaction from those in the cafeteria.

Next, Bennett is on the ground and we see blood nearby.

"Put your hands behind your back," the deputy says.

Then, the deputy puts handcuffs on Bennett. The teen is taken to the deputy's office where a school employee comes in and speaks to him.

"I told you man," the employee says. "You gotta calm down."

A short time later a nurse enters and tends to the teen. At one point she asks, "What was used to do this?"

An ambulance is called and other deputies arrive at the school. The deputy involved in the takedown explains to someone what happened.

"I took him down to the ground to handcuff him and he hit his head on the ground," the deputy says.

Bennett's mother and their attorney say another video shows the aftermath of the intensity and unnecessary force of the takedown, including the deputy placing Bennett in a choke hold.

"That's a disturbing video seeing my son being choked out," said Debbie Bennett. "Sad to say my daughter saw the whole thing and at one point he was choked and his tongue was hanging out his mouth."

But BSO says prior to the takedown, Bennett choked a school employee and aggressively pulled away from the deputy and assistant principal.

Broward's Sheriff Gregory Tony told us last that he doesn't see anything the deputy did wrong. Tony said the teen assaulted two school employees and choked them before the deputy arrived and that the student tried lunging at one of them again and that's when the deputy took him down.

"This is not going to be an internal affairs investigation and here's why," Tony explained. "What you all in the media have been able to see and release from a video standpoint is just a fraction of what this entire indecent looked like."

BSO says the family of Jordan Bennett never filed a complaint with the agency about the incident in February.

CBS4 News reached out to the family of Jordan Bennett. They said they couldn't comment on the bodywork camera video and referred us to their attorney.

As of late Monday afternoon, the attorney had not responded to our request for comment on the video.

On Monday, BSO had no additional comment on the body cam video or the case, saying they stand behind the comments of Sheriff Tony from last week.

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