Beverly Hills : Student Held in Assault

A Beverly Hills High School student was placed in custody at a juvenile hall this week for allegedly assaulting a Beverly Hills police officer who taught a class on campus, police said.

The officer, whose name was withheld by police, taught a course dealing with the role of police in government through the department’s crime prevention unit, according to Lt. Frank Salcido, a Police Department spokesman.

At the end of class on Dec. 17, the student slapped the officer on the back of the head for no apparent reason, Salcido said. The officer tried to send the student, who is 17, to the principal’s office, but the student refused to cooperate. The student’s name was also withheld because of his age.

The officer tried to forcibly escort the student, but he resisted and a struggle ensued. At one point, the pair fell against and broke through a glass trophy case in the hallway.

The student kicked the officer several times with steel-tipped boots before members of the school staff subdued him, witnesses said in a police report. The officer was taken to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he was treated and released.

A hearing is scheduled for next Thursday to determine whether to keep the student in custody at Eastlake Juvenile Hall in Los Angeles pending a trial. He has been charged with six counts of assault with a deadly weapon and battery.