The San Antonio Independent School District on Monday terminated a district police officer who became the subject of national scrutiny after a video surfaced on YouTube that appeared to show him body-slamming a 12-year-old girl.

While investigations into Officer Joshua Kehm’s actions during the March 29 encounter at Rhodes Middle School continue, district officials announced his termination on Monday, effective immediately.

“We understand that situations can sometimes escalate to the point of requiring a physical response; however, in this situation we believe that the extent of the response was absolutely unwarranted,” SAISD Superintendent Pedro Martinez said in a statement.

In a subsequent phone interview, Martinez said the decision to terminate Kehm was the result of what the district considered an unwarranted use of force and the officer’s failure to report the incident as required by district protocol.

Martinez said officers are required to report any use-of-force incident against a student immediately.

“That did not happen,” he said. “When the police officer did submit a report, it was not at all consistent with the video.”

Posted to YouTube last week, the video shows Kehm struggling to restrain a female student, identified by her mother as 12-year-old Janissa Valdez. Kehm had intervened during a verbal altercation between Janissa and another female student on the West Side campus.

Students can be seen in the video standing on either side of a pathway, some frowning, others smiling and laughing, using cellphones to record the incident. Screaming and crying can be heard. Some students can be heard urging Janissa to “chill,” then Kehm suddenly throws her down.

The YouTube video had been viewed almost 2.3 million times by Monday.

Janissa was suspended for two days after the incident, her mother said.

Kehm was terminated after an administrative investigation focused on his employment, said Leslie Price, SAISD spokeswoman. To prevent the appearance of any bias, the district referred the incident to the Texas Rangers for further investigation, administrators said.

The Texas Rangers can determine whether Kehm committed any violations that might lead to criminal charges or affect his license as a peace officer.

The Texas Penal Code states peace officers are justified in using force after making their purpose to arrest or search known, when possible, and if they believe force is “immediately necessary” for the arrest, search or to prevent escape.

Martinez said the report initially handed in by Kehm characterized the incident as an accidental fall.

“The investigation doesn’t stop here,” Martinez said, adding that the district is looking into the actions, or possible inaction by school administrators.

Kehm did not return a message Monday seeking comment. His LinkedIn page said he previously worked as a “non-lethal weapons instructor” for the Air Force. He enlisted in the Air Force in 2007, according to his LinkedIn page.

He joined SAISD’s police force in February 2015 and had no disciplinary record with the district before the Rhodes Middle School incident, Price said.

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