Tolleson school district ends police contract over excessive force investigation

The Tolleson Union High School District has ended its school resource officer contract with the city’s Police Department.

The decision comes after an investigation found an officer used excessive force on a student last year.

In September, a student was pinned to the wall and then the ground by an on-campus officer at Tolleson Union High School.

Superintendent Jeremy Calles said he asked the city to investigate and remove the officer from campus.

“They concluded that they saw no wrongdoing," Calles said. "I disagreed and I told them that we do not allow corporal punishment at our district and that they needed to have the officer removed. They refused to remove the officer.”

“This went on for four months and then finally when we had another incident with the same officer, I directed my principal and my site staff that that officer was no longer allowed on campus," Calles said.

Calles hired an outside firm to conduct an investigation, which found the officer had used excessive force.

In a statement, the Police Department said it disagreed with those findings. The district will work with other cities to staff officer positions moving forward.