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Helix High Brings in Group to Calm Tension Between School and Staff

School officials approved a plan to bring in a local non-profit to implement some of its programs with both students and staff.

Helix Charter High School has brought in help to try to calm tensions between students and staff.

The latest step is in response to outrage from students after a video surfaced showing a 17-year-old girl being thrown to the ground by a La Mesa police officer.

Police said the student was detained because she wouldn't leave campus after being suspended.

School officials asked the student to leave twice, but she wouldn't go, so police were called.

Now, the school is taking steps, hoping to move forward.

On Monday, school officials approved a plan to bring in a local non-profit, the Tariq Khamisa Foundation (TFK), to implement some of its programs with both students and staff.

TKF will be holding eight assemblies at the end of the February for the entire school and will also have healing circles with students, teachers and whoever would like to participate from the community.

"We were brought in because there's a lot of heightened emotions around this incident and we were brought in to bring some healing to that," explained Tasreen Khamisa, Executive Director of TKF. "How do you bring a community together when people have been hurt?" 

The officer involved in the incident with the student is on administrative leave during the ongoing investigation.

The La Mesa Police Department Chief told NBC 7 all officers take an 8-hour de-escalation course as part of their training.

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