A 16-year-old male student at Matanzas High School in Palm Coast was arrested last week after punching a school resource deputy, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office announced. The deputy was reportedly trying to break up a fight between the teenager and another student.
According to the FCSO’s description of the incident, two students were seen fighting at around 2:50 pm on Wednesday, April 2nd. The pair were said to be in the process of leaving school for the day when they were spotted by Deputy John Landi, one of two SRDs stationed at Matanzas High School.
School Deputy Intervenes in the Fight
The FCSO says Landi tried to place himself in between the two students. In the process of attempting to separate them, Landi was struck in the face by one of the two. It’s unclear whether the student hit the deputy intentionally or if he accidentally connected while swinging on the other student. The student’s identity was provided to media by the FCSO, but is omitted from this report in keeping with standard ethical journalistic practices.
The student was swiftly handcuffed, arrested, and charged with battery on a law enforcement officer. Deputy Landi was not injured in the incident. While still at the scene of the fight the teen received treatment from Flagler County Fire Rescue for an injury he’s said to have taken above his eye. He was then taken to a nearby hospital for evaluation, and then booked into the county jail. After being processed there, he was transferred into the custody of the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. From there he was given back to his parents.
Local Leaders Respond
“We are glad Deputy Landi was not seriously injured,” said Flagler Superintendent LaShakia Moore. “Our SRDs play an integral role in helping us maintain secure learning environments. We have a zero-tolerance policy and will not tolerate this kind of behavior on our campuses. We will continue to work fully with the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office in investigating this situation.”
“We have a zero-tolerance policy for violence in our schools, and I commend our school resource deputies for their swift action getting this fight under control before it had a chance to escalate further,” added Flagler Sheriff Rick Staly. “Thankfully, Deputy Landi did not sustain any injury from the strike to his face. Parents, please be the sheriff in your home. Teach your children how to handle disagreements without fighting and teach them that battering a deputy sheriff will get you arrested every time.”
