A Jeffersontown police officer used his stun gun on a student.

An incident at Jeffersontown High School on Wednesday afternoon ended with a Jeffersontown Police officer holding down a student and using a Taser on him.

A video of the altercation was posted on Twitter Wednesday afternoon by national social justice activist Shaun King, after making the rounds locally.

A school resource officer broke up a lunchroom fight between two students, but one of the students tried to attack the officer, prompting him to call for backup, said Jefferson County Public Schools spokeswoman Allison Martin. 

Later, as the resource officer was leading one of the students out of school, the student’s brother and a few other students “escalated a fight” with a Jeffersontown officer, who showed up to help the first officer, Martin said. 

Jeffersontown Police Chief Ken Hatmaker said that brother punched one of his officers in the head, slammed him against a wall and the two fell to the ground. 

It was then that another officer used his stun gun on the brother — a juvenile. As a group of students drew closer, Hatmaker said, the officer displayed the stun gun “to gain compliance.” 
 
A Jeffersontown police officer used his stun gun on a student who is alleged to have assaulted another officer Wednesday afternoon in a school hallway, according to school and police officials.

A school resource officer broke up a lunchroom fight between two students, but one of the students tried to attack the officer, prompting him to call for backup, said Jefferson County Public Schools spokeswoman Allison Martin. 

Later, as the resource officer was leading one of the students out of school, the student’s brother and a few other students “escalated a fight” with a Jeffersontown officer, who showed up to help the first officer, Martin said. 

Jeffersontown Police Chief Ken Hatmaker said that brother punched one of his officers in the head, slammed him against a wall and the two fell to the ground. 

It was then that another officer used his stun gun on the brother — a juvenile. As a group of students drew closer, Hatmaker said, the officer displayed the stun gun “to gain compliance.” 

Video appearing to show part of the incident circulated on Twitter on Wednesday.

The video shows three men, who appear to be police officers, on the ground trying to subdue a student. One officer kicks the student twice.

The video then appears to jump to the moment of the stun gun’s use. Some students gathered in the hallway scream, yell and question why the stun gun was used. The video does not show an assault on an officer. 

Hatmaker acknowledged some of the actions on the video were aggressive but were warranted given the large crowd and the assault on the officer. 

About The Author

Subscribe To Our Newsletter

Discover more from

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading