A Denver high school cheerleading instructor is under police investigation after he was seen on video forcing multiple girls into extended split positions as they screamed in pain and yelled, “No.”

Denver Public Schools‘ deputy general counsel, the cheerleading instructor at East High School, the assistant cheer instructor, the principal and assistant principal, have all been placed on leave pending an investigation.

Videos obtained by a local NBC affiliate reportedly showed a total of eight cheerleaders being repeatedly pushed down into forced splits, elevated above the ground, while their arms are held up by fellow teammates, making them unable to move. All of them cried out in pain as coach Ozell Williams pushed them down further, NBC reported.

In one of the videos, published by NBC, Ally Wakefield told Mr. Williams nine times in less than 24 seconds to “please, stop” as he pushed on her back and pulled her shoulders to correct her posture.

“Stop it,” he told her as she tried to move out of the position. “I can’t!” she cried.

Ally’s mother, Kirsten Wakefield, told NBC that her daughter was badly injured during the ordeal.

The videos were taken during the first week of cheer camp for East High School in June. Denver police launched their investigation Wednesday.

Denver Public Schools Superintendent Tom Boasberg said in a statement: “We immediately began taking steps to investigate this issue, and our Department of Safety is supporting Denver Police in this effort. In order to conduct a fair and thorough investigation, we have placed East Principal Andy Mendelsberg, East Assistant Principal Lisa Porter, East Cheer Coach Ozell Williams, East Assistant Cheer Coach Mariah Cladis and DPS Deputy General Counsel Michael Hickman on leave.

“We absolutely prohibit any practices that place our students’ physical and mental health in jeopardy,” Mr. Boasberg said. “We do not and will not allow any situation in which a student is forced to perform an activity or exercise beyond the point at which they express their desire to stop. With regards to certain videos, I cannot state strongly enough — as the superintendent of the school district and as the father of two high school-aged daughters — that the images and actions depicted are extremely distressing and absolutely contrary to our core values as a public school community.”

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