"Any rational view of the video shows that the officer violated her training," said attorney Ben Nisenbaum, who now represents 16-year-old Maurice Williams.
Video of the incident shows Williams being hit during an encounter with police. Williams' mother said she is concerned about how her son has been portrayed following the incident, and is calling for accountability.
"Maurice is not the monster that they're trying to create him to be. I believe that the monsters are being backed by the Fairfield Police Department. My son, everybody's forgetting that he's 16 years old! He's a child that never had any interaction with any type of law enforcement," she said.
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Nisenbaum also disputed accounts of what led up to the confrontation.
"The department and the school appears to have issued, made statements about Maurice that were untrue. He was not armed. There was no screwdriver in his backpack. None of that is true. He was not actually involved in the original fight that the police were responding to," Nisenbaum said.
Fairfield police said the incident happened last Wednesday when Officer Bianca Camacho and a school resource officer attempted to break up a student fight. Williams was arrested following what police described as a violent altercation. On social media, the police department said Camacho used "distraction strikes" to gain compliance.
Civil rights attorney Melissa Nold criticized that description and said the incident raises concerns about police conduct.
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"We are just kind of keeping an eye on Fairfield to see if they were going to go in a worse direction, or if they were going to go improve under a newer chief. And this is not, in my opinion, a good sign. Particularly, when the chief kind of immediately came out gaslighting the community, calling these 'distraction strikes' opposed to angry and uncontrolled violence," Nold said.
Nold said she has done distraction strikes as former Napa County deputy sheriff. She said distraction strikes are typically used in a limited and controlled way to gain compliance.
"A distraction strike would be like if you sort of open-palmed strike somebody once to get them sort off guard, so you could try to get them handcuffed. She (Camacho) was cursing and pummeling him," Nold said.
Williams' mother said she wants disciplinary action taken against the officer.
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"I just want her decertified. I want her badge. I do not want her to be able to work with any other children. We're fighting this fight for my son. We're fighting this fight for my son, but it's also for the future children," she said.
The Fairfield Police Department declined an interview request. The school district said it is reviewing its internal practices to ensure its relationship with law enforcement aligns with district goals around student safety.
The case remains under scrutiny as questions continue about the use of force and the circumstances surrounding the arrest.