‘MALICE’

Family Sues Off-Duty Wisconsin Cop Who Knelt on 12-Year-Old Girl’s Neck

“Although she is not healed from her trauma, she is ready to stand up for herself,” the preteen’s lawyer said.

The family of a 12-year-old girl in Kenosha, Wisconsin has filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city after an off-duty police officer was captured on video kneeling on the child’s neck while attempting to break up a cafeteria fight last year. The 14-page complaint, filed on behalf of the unidentified preteen and her father, Jerrel Perez, also names the officer, Shawn Guetschow, and the Kenosha Unified School District in the Eastern District of Wisconsin as defendants. It alleges that Guetschow used “unreasonable and excessive” force and “acted with malice or in reckless disregard” of the girl’s rights when he pinned her to the ground and placed his knee on her neck for more than 20 seconds, before handcuffing and marching her out of the cafeteria. As a “direct and proximate result” of Guetschow’s actions, it continues, the 12-year-old girl suffered “a traumatic brain injury, cervical strain, and recurrent headaches,” as well as “emotional distress, mental trauma, and anxiety.” In a statement, the girl’s lawyer, Drew DeVinney, said, “Although she is not healed from her trauma, she is ready to stand up for herself.”