A police officer is facing scrutiny after a video emerged showing her striking a high school student multiple times as she attempted to handcuff him during a response to a campus fight.
Incident at Fairfield High School
Body-worn camera footage from Officer Bianca Camacho, released by the Fairfield Police Department, captures the altercation that took place at Fairfield High School in California on 20 May. The video appears to show Camacho pulling 16-year-old Maurice Williams to the ground by his hair before trying to twist his arm behind his back. As he resisted, she delivered what the department described as “additional distraction strikes” to his face while pinning his head to the floor. Camacho is heard shouting, “Give me your f***ing hands,” several times. Maurice can be heard gently saying, “stop, stop, stop,” as he is eventually handcuffed with the help of another officer.
The student’s family said he was “beaten like a dog” and has since suffered from “dizzy spells” and headaches. His mother, Rhamesha Stevenson, expressed her devastation at witnessing her child being treated in such a manner.
Fairfield Police Chief Dan Marshall said officers were responding to multiple fights on campus and believed a student might have been reaching for a weapon. Screwdrivers were later found in students’ backpacks, the department stated. Chief Marshall explained that the strikes were intended “to gain compliance and gain access to his hands so he could be handcuffed”, adding that the officer “tried again to pull his arm behind his back but was still not able to overcome his resistance”.
Reassignment and community reaction
Camacho has been “administratively reassigned” within the department, according to the Fairfield Police Department, which said it was “committed to transparency” and had released body camera videos from two officers “to provide context to the situation”. The reassignment follows a wave of protests by students and community members at the school demanding accountability and the officer’s dismissal. Berry Accius, founder of the nonprofit Voice of the Youth, has been among those calling for action.
Chief Marshall apologised for the incident, acknowledging the division and concern it caused. “We will carefully evaluate the totality of the investigation’s findings, for discipline, additional training, opportunities for improvements, or policy changes within the department,” he said. He also announced that an outside organisation would conduct an independent investigation. In conjunction with the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District and community leaders, a community meeting is being organised to address both the incident and “the broader issue of the climate and culture on our high school campuses”.
Previous allegations of excessive force
It has since emerged that Camacho – then known as Bianca Brown – was allegedly involved in a similar incident of excessive force approximately a year earlier. In July 2025, 18-year-old Myah Hamilton was pulled from her vehicle during a traffic stop for speeding and failing to yield to emergency lights, according to a police report. Mobile phone footage from Hamilton’s passenger appears to show Camacho grabbing Hamilton by her hair and hoodie and forcefully pulling her out of the car. “Please, don’t rip me out,” Hamilton yells, as the officer helps unwind her arm through the seatbelt. “Can you stop? Can you stop, please?” she begs as Camacho grabs her left arm.
Court documents from the 2025 incident reportedly show a motion filed by Hamilton’s attorney calling the officer’s actions unlawful and an excessive use of force. Hamilton, who had kept her arrest footage private but released it after seeing the videos of Maurice Williams’ arrest, alleged that Camacho “ripped my hair out so I had a bald spot” and that she still has scars. “The same thing that happened to that poor boy was pretty much what happened to me,” Hamilton said. Her attorney, Peter Johnson, stated he would be filing a complaint against Camacho after Hamilton’s court case concludes, alleging that the charge of resisting arrest against Hamilton was “entirely fabricated in an effort to justify the illegal use of excessive force”.
Department’s response and policies
The Fairfield Police Department did not respond to requests for comment regarding the prior allegation. However, the department’s use-of-force policy states that officers may use “objectively reasonable force” and that deadly force is permissible only when officers reasonably believe it is necessary in defence of human life. The policy emphasises proportionality, requiring a level of force proportional to the seriousness of the offence or resistance. The department’s manual outlines procedures for internal affairs investigations into excessive force complaints.
Under California law (Penal Code 832.18), law enforcement agencies must have written policies for the use, storage and retention of body-worn camera footage. Footage involving use-of-force incidents or complaints must be retained for at least two years. Body-camera videos are generally considered public records, with a requirement to release them within 45 days, though exceptions exist for privacy and ongoing investigations. Proposed legislation, SB 691, could further affect how footage is handled, particularly around medical privacy.
The Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District collaborates with the Fairfield Police Department on joint training for School Resource Officers aimed at improving interaction with students and staff, and had scheduled an active-attacker training for November 2025. The district reviews its Comprehensive School Safety Plan annually and offers a Public Safety Academy designed to prepare students for careers in law enforcement, emphasising communication, problem-solving and ethics.
