The FBI will investigate the case of a female South Carolina student being dragged by a school security officer across a classroom.
The Justice Department says it has opened a federal civil rights inquiry into yesterday's confrontation.
Nobody was hurt in the incident at Spring Valley High School in Columbia, which was filmed by other students on their mobile phones.
It shows the uniformed officer attempting to remove a student, who according to the school had become disruptive and had refused to leave the class.
After being grabbed around the neck, the student is then tipped backwards out of their chair onto the floor and then thrown several feet towards the front of the classroom.
School officials and sheriff's deputies are investigating the incident, and the officer involved has been suspended.
