Lawsuit filed against Stonecrest Mall security

LITHONIA - A mother of a teenager claims in a lawsuit that security guards overreacted when they expelled her 15-year-old from the Stonecrest Mall in Lithonia.

The incident occurred last summer and was captured on video. The scenes show guards pummeling the teen. But the guards said what is not shown is the behavior of the teen. They said he started the confrontation.

Chavella Hamm said her son suffered cuts and bruises as well as psychological scars from the incident. 

She initially sought to have three guards charged criminally in the incident. She went to a DeKalb magistrate judge, who, after weighing the evidence, found no criminal liability. 

Mawuli Davis, an attorney on behalf of the family, said the scuffle could have been avoided had the guards used discretion. The mall has a policy in which youngsters must be accompanied by an adult. 

Davis said the teen's mom was nearby and was on the way to pick up her child, but an impatient guard allegedly told the 15-year-old to go out into a driving rain that evening.