FRIDLEY, Minn. — A juvenile faces three counts of felony assault in connection with an alleged attack on a school resource officer (SRO) at Fridley High School Thursday, and prosecutors in Anoka County are moving to have the teen certified as an adult.
The petition filed against the 16-year-old girl says Fridley police officers were dispatched to the high school shortly after 3 p.m. on a report of multiple people fighting in the parking lot. An officer assigned to the school as an SRO radioed in with a call for emergency assistance.
Prosecutors say when squads arrived a massive crowd had gathered and students began scattering in all directions. The SRO was restraining one female student and reported that another student, later identified as the defendant, had kicked him in the head.
Officers learned that the juvenile defendant had run inside the school. When they located the teen and attempted to take her into custody, officers said she screamed at them and began kicking, striking multiple law enforcement personnel in the groin, pelvis, legs and knees. Even after she was handcuffed, police say the defendant elbowed one officer and ignored commands to stop.
The SRO was helping fellow officers restrain the teen when they noticed he was disoriented, sweating, confused and couldn't maintain his balance. The officer was taken to North Memorial Medical Center and diagnosed with a severe concussion from being kicked in the head.
Hospital staff told Fridley police that the SRO will likely be unable to work for three to six months.
Investigators recovered video of the parking lot incident that reportedly shows the 16-year-old female violently kicking the SRO in the back of the head as he sat unprotected on the ground while restraining another student.
When interviewed by police the defendant said there was supposed to be a fight after school and she ended up trading punches with another student. The teen allegedly admitted to becoming agitated when officers detained her, stating that she has an IEP and she does not do well with police officers. The defendant claimed she did not know she did anything wrong and that she did not try to hurt the SRO.
Fridley police say two others involved in the initial fight were also arrested.
Watch more local news:
Watch the latest local news from the Twin Cities and across Minnesota in our YouTube playlist:
WATCH MORE ON KARE 11+
Download the free KARE 11+ app for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and other smart TV platforms to watch more from KARE 11 anytime! The KARE 11+ app includes live streams of all of KARE 11's newscasts. You'll also find on-demand replays of newscasts; the latest from KARE 11 Investigates, Breaking the News and the Land of 10,000 Stories; exclusive programs like Verify and HeartThreads; and Minnesota sports talk from our partners at Locked On Minnesota.
- Add KARE 11+ on Roku here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Roku Channel Store.
- Add KARE 11+ on Fire TV here or by searching for KARE 11 in the Amazon App Store.
- Learn more about the KARE 11+ app for Apple TV in the Apple App Store.
- Learn more about KARE 11+ here.
