Over a hundred students at Clinton High School staged a walk-out Monday morning to protest following a confrontation between a black student-athlete and an Anderson County Sheriff’s Deputy that occurred after Friday night’s home football game against Campbell County. Details of exactly what occurred are unclear but reportedly, it started as an argument between players from both teams and ended with a student on the ground in handcuffs, although no arrests were made.

News of the incident quickly made the rounds on social media, including what both law enforcement and school officials say are “erroneous” reports that a taser was deployed during the altercation, saying that “no student was tased…nor was a taser discharged.” The walk-out conducted Monday between first and second periods was also planned over social media.
Students called the incident on Friday a “breaking point,” and organizers of Monday’s protest said their goal is to bring attention to issues they feel are important to them and to bring about change at their school.

District leaders said Monday that they were proud of the students, and stressed that now that they have achieved their goal of attention, that the next step is meaningful communication on how to move forward, followed by the actual hard work of bringing about change.

That process is expected to involve a group of students who will represent a diverse cross-section of the student body, and report to Director of Schools Dr. Tim Parrott directly.

The School Resource Officer at the center of the investigation has not been identified by the Sheriff’s Office except to say that he was never assigned to Clinton High School. The ACSO says that they are investigating what happened on Friday, and this morning told WYSH Radio that while the incident is being investigated, the officer in question is prohibited from visiting Clinton High School and will not be assigned to any events involving Clinton High School.

School leaders have been aware of the situation since Friday night, and have spoken with numerous parents, students, and School Board members since that time.

Because the ongoing investigation and as it involves a juvenile, no reports can be made available for media release, according to the ACSO.