Student in wheelchair beaten by school security guard

A security guard hit a special needs student in a wheelchair at school.

"He slapped me. He hit me so hard, it threw me out of my chair. I hit the floor with my chin first. I had a scar right here," Oakland High School student Francisco Martinez told Californian news channel KTVU, pointing to his chin.

The security guard was identified as 23-year-old Marchell Mitchell.

In a letter to parents cited by the San Francisco Chronicle, the school's principal Matin Abdel-Qawi said Mitchell, who was a substitute school resource officer, was urging students to be punctual for class on May 19.

Martinez, 17, who has cerebral palsy and is in a wheelchair, either refused to comply or was slow in moving.

Mitchell then began to push Martinez's wheelchair.

When Martinez resisted and tried to slap the guard's hands away, the guard handcuffed the teen to the chair. Martinez admits he then spit on the guard.

"I was handcuffed, so I didn't have no way to defend myself but my mouth," Martinez told KTVU.

That's when the alleged assault on the student began. Martinez says there's more to it than what's shown on the video. Along with being attacked in the hallway, Martinez claimed he was beaten and thrown to the ground in an elevator.

Mitchell has since been fired, arrested by the police and charged with corporal injury to a child.

"I'm shocked and deeply hurt by this behaviour and apologise on behalf of the staff at Oakland High," Abdel-Qawi said.

"This incident is not reflective of the kind of culture we cherish at our school or how we treat one another."

Source: Huffington Post , YouTube