Wisconsin student's dad sues over officer's neck restraint

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — An Illinois man has filed a federal lawsuit alleging that an off-duty police officer improperly restrained his 12-year-old daughter during a fight in a Wisconsin middle school last year by placing his knee on her neck similar to how Derek Chauvin fatally restrained George Floyd.

Jerrel Perez, who lives in Zion, Illinois, but who used to live a about 10 miles (16 kilometers) north in Kenosha, Wisconsin, filed the lawsuit Monday. He alleges that the officer, Shawn Guetschow, used excessive force and inflicted lasting injuries on his daughter. The filing seeks unspecified damages and attorney fees from Guetschow, the city of Kenosha and its school district.

Messages left for the city attorney, the school district's spokesperson, the Kenosha Police Department and the Kenosha Professional Police Association, the union that represents Kenosha officers, weren't immediately returned. Attempts to reach Guetschow directly at several possible telephone listings were unsuccessful.

Guetschow was working his off-duty job as a security guard at Lincoln Middle School in Kenosha on March 4 when Perez's daughter got into a fight with another student in the cafeteria.

Surveillance video shows Guetschow rush over and separate the students. He scuffles with Perez's daughter, who appears to throw a punch at him. He falls to the floor and takes her down with him. He then gets on top of her and appears to press his knee into the back of her neck for about 25 seconds while he handcuffs her. He then hauls her to her feet and leads her off-camera.

Perez's daughter is Black. Guetschow is white.

Perez alleges in the lawsuit that his daughter couldn't breathe while Guetschow's knee was on her neck. She sustained a traumatic brain injury and still suffers recurring headaches, according to the lawsuit.

The...