Sponsored message
Logged in as
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen
News

LAUSD Superintendent Calls For Ban On Controversial Neck Holds By School Police

One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.

Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Austin Beutner will ask the school board to ban Los Angeles School Police from using pepper spray and a controversial neck hold before next school year, he said in his weekly video update today.

He said:

"We cannot ignore the legitimate concerns and criticisms that students and other members in the school community have about all forms of law enforcement. The culture and climate at schools must be founded on inclusion and respect."

LAUSD is one of the few school districts in the nation to operate its own police force. According to the
Los Angeles School Police policy manual, officers are already not supposed to use the controversial carotid hold — which involves an officer pressing his arm on one or both sides of a person’s neck to restrict blood flow to the brain — on vulnerable groups, including "obvious juveniles."

Last year, the board voted 4-3 to end the practice of randomly searching students for weapons and drugs, which critics said unfairly targeted Black and Latino students. That practice will end on July 1.

Beutner also said the district will review its budget — including the portion allocated for school police — over the summer.

Sponsored message

Organizers with the group Students Deserve have scheduled a "March to Defund LAUSD School Police" on Tuesday.

We are continuing to report on school police. If you have information or experiences you would like to share, you can reach out to reporter Carla Javier.

READ MORE:

Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our coverage: Sign up for our daily newsletters. To support our non-profit public service journalism: Donate Now.

One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.

If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible donation today