A high school principal defended the police officer who quit after slamming an unarmed teen girl to the ground

Miami Herald

Alberto iber, principal of North Miami Senior High School

Those are the words of North Miami Senior High School principal Alberto Iber.

Iber posted the comment about the incident involving McKinney, Texas police officer Eric Casebolt, who resigned Tuesday amid national backlash over the way he handled a disturbance at a pool party last week.

The high school principal defended Casebolt's actions on the Miami Herald's website, declaring Casebolt was "afraid for his life" as the officer forced an unarmed, bikini-clad 15-year-old girl to the ground.

Iber concluded with, "I commend [Casebolt] for his actions."

Miami Herald reporter Christina Veiga noted that Iber's comment has "raised eyebrows" in North Miami, because the high school he oversees has a student body that's "99 percent minority," according to state records.

The actions Iber cosigned are an apparently erratic display of behavior on the part of Officer Casebolt who, upon arriving to the scene Friday, sprinted past teenagers and adults, did a barrel roll, got on his feet and continued sprinting into the distance with another officer close behind.

Later, Casebolt is seen chasing a predominantly black group of teenagers who were mingling nearby, ordering them to the ground - eventually pulling a gun on some of them before his fellow officers stepped in to restrain him.

In a press conference Tuesday, McKinney Chief of Police Greg Conley called Casebolt's actions "indefensible," and said the officer was "out of control."

Principal Iber reportedly said he meant to post his comment anonymously. The comment was later deleted, but not before screenshots were saved and passed around social media.

Miami Herald

Miami Beach Police veteran Ambrose Sims weighed in, saying Iber's comments reveal he's "a serious part of the problem."

Iber's superiors at the Miami-Dade school district say they're looking into the matter.

The principal later posted this response:

"I support law enforcement, and also the community and students that I serve as the proud principal of North Miami Senior High ... The comment I posted was simply made as the result of a short video that I watched and my personal opinion."