A Houston-area school police department named in a $1 million lawsuit has used force on students and others nearly 130 times since 2012.
The Houston Chronicle obtained statistics from the Pasadena school district showing its police force over that time pointed firearms at subjects 24 times, used pepper spray twice and used nightsticks four times.
In one instance, an officer in 2012 shot an unarmed eighth-grader in the chest as the boy fled a school building during a midnight burglary attempt. The 14-year-old survived and a Harris County grand jury later declined to bring criminal charges.
The parents of a high school student have filed the lawsuit alleging the boy was beaten after insisting administrators return a cellphone that was confiscated earlier.
The district has defended the actions of the officer involved.
