After brawl at Arkansas high school, 9 are charged

Nine Hope High School students face rioting, battery and disorderly conduct charges after a fight in the school office Tuesday, police said.

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The fight was captured on a video that spread through social media.

One student swung at a police officer who tried to break up the fight, and a second student struck another student in the head with a plastic desk organizer, Hope's Assistant Police Chief Kimberly Tomlin said.

The fight started about noon Tuesday in the 728-student school's main office after a fight between two girls in the cafeteria, police said. Tomlin said the two fights were "possibly related."

Hope High School's resource officer reported that some students entered the office and engaged other students "in an aggressive manner" before multiple fights broke out, Tomlin said.

South Arkansas blogs published video of the office fight Tuesday night. As of Friday, hundreds of Facebook users had shared the video, which had been viewed nearly 173,000 times.

Tomlin said she didn't know who recorded the video but that it was likely a student.

Of the nine students charged, five were minors, so their names have not been released.

One 16-year-old boy was charged with rioting, disorderly conduct and second-degree battery, a felony. That student on Friday was detained at a juvenile-detention center pending a court appearance, Tomlin said.

Four of the teenagers were charged with third-degree battery, rioting and disorderly conduct, all misdemeanors. Those students, 16 and 17 years old, were released pending a juvenile-court date.

Cha'Myria Davis, 19; Dalisia Brown, 18; Rosquasha Dancer, 18; and Mercedes Harris, 18, were each charged with third-degree battery, rioting and disorderly conduct, Tomlin said.

All four adult students were released pending a court appearance, Tomlin said.

District Superintendent Bobby Hart in a statement said the original fight in the cafeteria was "handled according to district policy" and that the district's campuses are safe.

"The students' safety at [Hope High School] is comparable to any high school in the state; and we are proud of the actions of our staff, local law enforcement, and students who helped diffuse the situation," Hart said.

The school district's communications director declined to answer specific questions.

School administrators disciplined several students in accordance with school policy, police said.

State Desk on 01/21/2017

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