The family of an elementary-age boy with ADHD has filed a federal lawsuit against a Wyoming school resource officer and his employer, the Laramie County Sheriff's Office. The lawsuit accuses the officer of violating the child’s constitutional rights after a meeting between the child and the principal escalated into a physical assault between the young boy and the school resource officer.

The second grader, who was eight years old at the time of the incident, is identified only as J.D. in the lawsuit. Bodycam footage from the officer shows J.D. sitting down with the principal at a desk in the office area of Freedom Elementary School at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

The footage shows J.D. and the principal engaged in a “calm, peaceful, and appropriate interaction." The two were discussing a behavior issue the boy had displayed while in the lunchroom. The footage goes on like this for five minutes before it suddenly cuts out. The next frame in the footage shows J.D. pinned to the ground on his belly with his hands behind his back and the school resource officer, Deputy Sheriff Benjamin Jacquot, kneeling over him. Audio of the footage captures the boy crying and breathing heavily under the officer's restraint.

The eight-year-old boy can be heard repeatedly saying “I give up” and “I’m sorry” as he cries for help. Officer Jacquot responded in a shouting tone, “No, No, you don’t get to win this now. It's all me! Do you understand me! I should be taking you to jail!” the complaint explains.

The lawsuit alleges the abrupt change in the footage was the work of Officer Jacquot, who went to his vehicle after the incident and deleted the portion of the video that shows how the physical altercation occurred. The complaint reveals, however, that school principal Chad Delbridge reported that the officer "grabbed J.D. by the arm," even though the officer was never asked to engage.

Delbridge shared his account of what happened during the missing footage timeframe in a written report that was taken down during the investigation. The report explains that Officer Jacquot "forcibly wrestled J.D. into a nearby conference room using an armlock," repeatedly slammed J.D. face down onto the floor, and climbed on top of the 68-pound boy to pin him facedown.” The lawsuit also details that J.D. was coughing and struggling to breathe during the alleged assault.

After the incident, J.D.’s father, Ishmael DeJesus, was called to the school to pick his child up. When DeJesus sat down with the officer in the school’s conference room, footage of the meeting shows DeJesus asking Officer Jacquot why he restrained his child when J.D. was not harming anyone. The officer can be heard responding, “Because, as a law enforcement officer, that’s my primary function.”

Under the Wyoming Administrative Code, the use of the prone restraint position is banned in schools. Additionally, grabbing a child by the arm is also prohibited under the Wyoming public school policy. In the footage, the officer can be seen engaging in these behaviors.

The lawsuit accuses the officer and the Sheriff's Office of unreasonable seizure and excessive force in violation of J.D.’s Fourth and 14th Amendments. The lawsuit argues that the assault exhibits disability-based discrimination because the boy was allegedly targeted for his behavior and instead of de-escalating the situation as required by the child’s IEP, the officer escalated the situation.

Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) are specialized plans developed for students who are eligible for special education services. Because of his neurodivergent disability, J.D.'s teachers knew to interact with him in ways that were de-escalatory, including waiting for him and offering patience when it came to behavioral issues.

In escalating the situation, the lawsuit explains that the officer and the sheriff’s office were in violation of the Rehabilitation Act. Under the act, it is illegal for programs that receive federal financial assistance to discriminate against individuals who have a disability.

J.D. no longer attends the elementary school where the incident occurred. DeJesus, who is a member of the Air Force, was relocated to a different base in a different state shortly after the altercation. J.D. now attends another school designed for children with emotional disturbances. He is also continuing to receive psychiatric and psychological treatment, some of which is designed to work through the trauma he experienced at the hands of Officer Jacquot.

The officer is no longer employed at the elementary school but was never disciplined for his actions. The lawsuit shares that the sheriff’s office would later tell J.D.’s mother that the officer's actions were “appropriate and justified.”

Matthew Haltzman, an attorney for the family, shared with NBC News that J.D.’s family “is still putting the pieces of their son’s life together almost two years after the event." Haltzman stated that “a part of that rebuilding and healing process is going to require Deputy Jacquot and his department to take accountability for what they did to this child, his parents and the community at large.”

The family’s lawsuit is seeking compensatory damages and a trial by jury.