Former officers charged after leaked video shows them slamming middle school student

After a video showing a police officer slamming a middle school student to the ground twice and another thrusting the student’s face into a desk surfaced, the officers are facing minor charges.

On Friday, a Louisiana grand jury in West Baton Rouge Parish indicted former Brusly police officer Anthony “Kip” Dupre on a charge of malfeasance or wrongdoing in office and former officer Dan Cipriano on a charge of simple battery, CBS affiliate WAFB-TV reports. 

The student’s family believes the charges are a “slap on the wrist,” their attorney Kwame Asante told Baton Rouge-based The Advocate. Asante said the teen was sent to the office for cursing on the playground. He then argued with a school administrator about how long he had to stay in detention. That was in October.

Dupre claimed the student reached for his gun during the struggle, The Advocate reports. In the video, a school administrator is seen taking something from the officer and placing it on the desk. Later, she is seen moving the item further back.

It was not immediately known if either of the former officers had attorneys to represent them. USA TODAY has reached out to Asante, to Brusly police and to the school for comment.