Jury convicts Indianapolis police officer who struck student

A jury has found an Indianapolis police officer guilty of official misconduct and perjury in connection with an incident in which a student was punched after officers broke up a fight inside a high school.

The Marion County prosecutor’s office said Officer Robert Lawson was convicted Wednesday, The Indianapolis Star reported Friday.

Lawson was videotaped hitting the 17-year-old male student in 2019 outside Shortridge High School. The video was posted on social media.

Lawson had claimed he was defending himself, but prosecutors said he struck the student “without a legitimate concern for self-defense.”

Officials said at the time that the student was not taken into custody and no charges were filed against him.

The 17-year-old had been involved in the fight in the school and was being escorted off the school’s property when the altercation between him, Lawson and the student’s aunt occurred, the newspaper reported.