LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — You may remember this 2023 viral phone video showing a Clark County School Districtpolice officer slamming a student to the ground at Durango High School.
This video sparked outrage— prompting a lot of questions.
The ACLU got involved, demanding an investigation. They filed a lawsuit to obtain the body camera footage from the department.
That video was released about a year ago last summer, followed by the district's details with 2,000 pages regarding the case.
On Thursday night, CCSD agreed to a one-million-dollar settlement in the case.
We view it as a significant step but only a step to increasing accountability when it comes to the police department at CCSD.
Christopher Peterson is the legal director at the ACLU of Nevada. He said having pushed for more transparency in this case, this settlement shows there is still more change that needs to happen.
"When you have a school district claiming that oh not only did we not do anything wrong, we actually protected everyone's rights and the records that come out like the body-worn camera that is clearly what shows there is still a lot of work that needs to be done and we are not talking about changing," Peterson said.
I also talked to Brian Blankenship, the attorney representing the students involved.
There were a lot of sleepless nights for these families a lot of tears a lot fears that came out of this event. I don't think the work is done.
Blankenship said while the family is satisfied with the settlement, they want students to be protected in the future.
"A big part of the accountability for these families is to make sure this community is safer that CCSD prevents this from happening again through training and other methods," Blankenship said.
Peterson said they are pushing for more transparency.
"We still have litigation as the ACLU against the Clark County School District to try and get more information for the public from what happened during this incident. Our case is currently pending at the Nevada Supreme Court," Peterson said.
On Friday afternoon, I reached out to CCSD to see if there was a comment on the settlement, but we did not hear back.
If we do, Channel 13 will make sure to update you on this story.
