Mother says video show mall guards beating son
Officials from the Mall of Stonecrest in Lithonia said the three security guards seen in a cell phone video that went viral are on unpaid suspension. But Chevalla Hamm believes they should be in jail for what she said she saw them doing to her 15-year-old son.
"Just seeing them hit my child like that--it hurts," Hamm said outside the DeKalb County Courthouse.
Thursday, Hamm and her attorney, Mawuli Davis went to a DeKalb County Magistrate Court hoping a judge would sign criminal warrants for the guards' arrest. Instead, the judge set a hearing for August 10th at 9 a.m. Hamm said her son's injuries were photographed shortly after the altercation.
"He's traumatized by this. This was a horrific attack by 3 adult men," the Rockdale County mother said.
"Based on the viciousness of the attack, we're disappointed Stonecrest Mall didn't have the men arrested that day," said attorney Mawuli Davis.
DeKalb County Police are still investigating the case, but said there are conflicting witness accounts of what happened between three guards, who work for Securitas, and the 15-year-old boy, whose name is not being released.
A police captain said there was “mutual combat,” but wouldn't go into further details. According to the police report, one of the guards was hit in the arm with a belt before the cell phone camera was rolling.
The family's attorney said there was verbal altercation, but insists nothing warranted what happened in the video.
“A 15-year-old boy is punched and kicked by grown men. The video shows that. That's child cruelty and that's a felony," Davis said.
FOX 5's Portia Bruner called all of the guards listed in the video, only one has commented so far. By phone, John Battle said, "I can't go into details, but the story that's being reported is wrong, just wrong."