(INDIANAPOLIS) — The family of a 17-year-old Indianapolis boy who was punched by a police officer outside a school last week is suing the officer.
The federal lawsuit alleges that the actions of that officer and two officers employed by Indianapolis Public Schools violated the youth’s civil rights.
The Aug. 29 confrontation between the student and the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer was captured in a video posted on social media showing the boy falling to the ground.
The complaint alleges that officers were summoned to Shortridge High School to help school police handle a large fight when Officer Robert Lawson, who is white, punched the black student in the jaw without warning.
IMPD has suspended Lawson without pay.
Indianapolis Police Chief Bryan Roach has said the officer’s actions were not “reasonable.”
