Mother claims excessive force from school officer at Liberty Tech High School

JACKSON, Tenn. — A new school year for a transfer student takes an ugly turn.

Shayla Porter said an incident at Liberty Tech High School went from bad to worse when help arrived.

“My daughter was involved in a fight,” Porter said. “Several girls jumped her at Liberty Tech. After the fight was broken up, she was slammed to the floor by a deputy.”

A video shows the fight between several girls in which 15-year-old Kevona said she was slammed to the ground.

“He took his leg and slammed me on the floor, and when I was on the floor I started to scream because my head hit the ground and it was hurting and stuff,” Kevona said. “He placed his hand on the back of my neck and the other hand on the top of my head, then he started pushing my head against the ground.”

Kevona said the situation only got worse. “I asked to call my mom because the other girls were on the phone with their mothers, and he said ‘no, you’re not calling your mom — you are going to jail.'”

Shayla said Kevona suffered a concussion, yet she says the school never let her know she was in trouble.

“My oldest daughter called and told me she had been hurt in a fight — the school never called,” Shayla said.

The Jackson-Madison County School System released this statement to WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News:

“It is not our practice to publicly comment or disclose confidential student information. The district takes all allegations of misconduct seriously and investigates them thoroughly while protecting the privacy of all parties and takes any action deemed appropriate for the situation.”

Shayla said she wants the officer held responsible.

“This is a child, and this is my child, and I’m supposed to be able to protect her,” Shayla said. “I don’t think a parent should have to see a grown man, especially one that’s sworn to help her, that she should be treated like that.”

According to her mother, following a Monday hearing with the district Kevona has been placed at the alternative school until January.

Shayla said she has filed a claim with State Department of Child Services against the officer.

She said she wants to prevent this from happening to another student.