- May 16, 2024
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Matanzas High School is located at the corner of Old Kings Road and Matanzas Woods Parkway. Google Maps image
Updated 6:15 p.m.
A voice message was sent to parents of Matanzas High School students this afternoon to inform them about an incident in which an 18-year-old student was arrested after a fight on campus.
The Sheriff's Office later confirmed that a Taser was deployed to stun the student, who then submitted.
The principal, Dr. Earl Johnson, explained that Damien Thompson, 18, got into a fight after he was suspended and was told to leave the school.
“School administrators attempted to de-escalate the situation several times to no avail,” Johnson said. Then, the school resource officer, John Landi, arrived and attempted to remove Thompson. He warned Thompson that if he didn’t leave, he would be committing a crime: trespassing.
"He had one handcuff on him, and that’s when the fight was on," said Jim Troiano, spokesman for the Sheriff's Office. Thompson fought in the courtyard with Landi, who had minor scrapes and scratches as a result, according to the press release from the Sheriff’s Office. Landi was treated by paramedics at the scene.
Thompson was charged with trespassing on school property, resisting an officer with violence, battery of a law enforcement officer and battery of a school official.
Thompson wasn’t the only one: A 15-year-old Matanzas student is being charged with resisting with violence as a result of trying to interfere with Landi’s arrest. All students returned to their classrooms within five minutes of the incident, according to Johnson.
The phone call concludes with this from Johnson: “Matanzas High school will not tolerate incidents like this. We want to commend our Pirate scholars who act appropriate during these moments.”
Landi was involved in a similar incident in 2013, in which a Taser was used against a student at Matanzas.
"You hear 'a high school student,' and you think of little kids," Troiano said. "Some of these kids are adults, and they're as big as adults. ... These issues happen, especially dealing with young people. Many times, they don’t know how to dontrol their temper."
Amy Gibby has two children at the school, a senior and a sophomore. She said she feels her kids are safe at Matanzas.
“It is a very good school,” she wrote in a Facebook message to the Observer. She added: “I’m just glad it was taken care of. I know how kids can be mean to each other. I know how things can get blown out of proportion, and sometimes kids need to be restrained.”
Gibby is a former school bus driver for St. Johns County.
