SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — A Seminole High School security guard says she was attacked by a student during a large fight on campus this week. That student, 18-year-old Tyshawn Ellison, was arrested and charged with battery.
Channel 9 obtained multiple videos showing Tuesday’s fight, where several students were seen punching each other.
Ellison, wearing a white shirt and light jeans in the footage, can be seen running toward another teen during the brawl.
“He fought. I understand that. He was on school campus, so he broke a rule,” said Darlene Ellison, Tyshawn’s mother, who spoke exclusively with Channel 9. “But did your son batter this woman?” Channel 9’s Geovany Dias asked. “No. No, he did not,” she added.
The security guard, identified as Ms. Cypress, told police in a sworn statement that Ellison pushed her and began a physical altercation. That statement led to his arrest.
Ellison’s mother says, however, the videos, recorded by students at the scene, show a different story.
“So, they say my son got into an altercation with another boy, and his friends got in an altercation with some other boys — all at one time,” she explained. “It was a whole bunch of kids fighting.”
Ms. Ellison said she has already handed those videos over to Sanford police.
One slowed-down version of clip obtained shows Ellison pointing in the distance as the guard extends her arm toward him. It’s unclear what happened before or after that moment.
The mother said that’s why she believes the accusations don’t add up. “I don’t want no felony on my son’s record for something that he did not do,” Ms. Ellison said. “I want them to get that security guard off that campus.”
Sanford Police said they established probable cause for Ellison’s arrest based on sworn statements.
Seminole County Public Schools said the case is now being handled by police.
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