Sgt. Max Templeton

The first student ever stunned by a Hamilton County Sheriff’s Department Taser likely will receive a harsh punishment from the school system since he was kicked out of a county high school for the second time this year, officials said.

The male student was expelled from Red Bank High School several months ago for a zero-tolerance discipline offense and was sent to Washington Alternative School. He has now been suspended from Washington pending the outcome of his second zero-tolerance hearing this year, said Danielle Clark, spokeswoman for Hamilton County Schools.

Zero tolerance “is typically progressive in nature, so a second incident like this could carry higher consequences,” Ms. Clark said.

The former Red Bank 10th-grader has been charged with criminal trespassing, disorderly conduct, simple assault and resisting arrest, said Sgt. Max Templeton, sheriff’s department spokesman.

The student was Tased at about 8:45 a.m. Friday after refusing to obey the school resource officer who asked him to not leave the school’s office, according to sheriff’s reports.

After arriving at his former school to take a final exam, the male student left the school office, saying “he had a problem with another student in the building, and he was going to go find him,” Sgt. Max Templeton said.

The student resource officer warned the student several times that he was not allowed to leave the office, Sgt. Templeton said. The student became unruly, cursing loudly in the hallway and causing a disturbance, according to sheriff reports.

When the officer tried to place the student in custody for being disorderly, the juvenile resisted, Sgt. Templeton said.

“The SRO wrestled with the student until he broke loose and stood up. The officer ordered (the student) to get down on the floor and stop resisting,” sheriff’s reports state. “The student refused and stood, flailing his arms.”

Following a warning, the officer Tased the student, who was taken to T.C. Thompson Children’s Hospital to be examined, Sgt. Templeton said.

The sheriff’s department, which began using Tasers several months ago, recently distributed the weapons to be used on school campuses.

“If someone is of such a size that the officer is having trouble bringing them under control, age doesn’t matter,” Sgt. Templeton said.

Red Bank principal Gail Chuy said teachers already were getting students out of the hallway and into their classrooms by the time the student was Tased. Some students were able to see what happened from their classroom, she said, but none were in the immediate vicinity of the incident.

“We have a very active safety committee here with lots of safety drills,” she said. “When teachers and staff recognize there’s something going on, they react immediately.”

Red Bank parent Melissa Pierce said her daughter Emily wasn’t in the building when the incident took place.

“If my child had been there and (the student) was threatening to harm another child in the school, I’m glad the SRO was there to take care of it,” she said. “My gut reaction is it sounds like the officer followed protocol. He had to do what he had to do.”

Ms. Chuy said she never second-guessed the officer’s use of the Taser.

“I have complete confidence in our SRO that he’s going to do his job in the best interest of our kids,” she said. “I totally trust him.”