Mother sues because a police officer at school threw her son onto the school desk after an attack

FLORENCE COUNTY, SC (WMBF/Gray News) – A South Carolina mother is filing a lawsuit claiming a school security guard was reckless with her son after he was attacked in the restroom.

The mother filed suit Monday, naming the Florence County Sheriff's Office and Florence School District 1 as defendants.

In March, a fight broke out in the Wilson High School bathroom, and several students reportedly attacked the woman's son, identified in the lawsuit as TH.

School staff reportedly informed school safety officer Deputy Jerry Kelly about the fight and that a child was unconscious on the floor and possibly having an epileptic seizure.

According to the lawsuit, when Kelly saw TH leaving the restroom, he reacted and tried to stop him, but TH did not listen to him or the principal.

Kelly then heard the principal say, “Oh, you're trying to fight me now, don't do that,” at which point the deputy grabbed TH, threw him onto a nearby desk and handcuffed him, the document says.

Released body camera footage shows an employee telling Kelly before the collision that there was something wrong with TH and that was why he was not responding.

But Kelly was still angry at TH for not responding and continued to verbally abuse the boy even after the fight, according to the lawsuit.

TH had a large visible bump on his head and that should have been a clear sign to Kelly that TH was possibly suffering from a head injury and was not being disrespectful, the lawsuit states.

After the incident, TH's mother took the boy to the Medical University of South Carolina, where it was determined that he needed surgery for a broken arm.

TH's mother accuses the school district and the sheriff's office of neglect and negligence.

“As a direct and proximate cause of the violations complained of herein, TH suffered injuries, including but not limited to pain and suffering, mental anguish, emotional distress, medical expenses, health care costs and other damages,” the lawsuit states.

She is demanding a jury trial with compensatory and punitive damages.

A sheriff's office spokesman said the agency could not comment because it “had neither seen nor been served with the complaint.”

The school district did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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