Mom of teen body slammed, arrested by school police says wrong person was punished

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. - The mother of a teen who was body slammed and then arrested by the police chief of his school district is now demanding justice for her son. She said the officer who took him down is on paid leave. The entire ordeal was caught on video.

"I have not been able to stop crying since I saw that video," LaKia Amos, the teen's mom, told FOX 5 from her ICU hospital bed.

Amos is already fighting cancer. She said she has no problem also fighting for justice for her son, 17-year-old Omauri Stephens.

Omauri Stephens (Credit: DeKalb County Sheriff's Office)

"All I see is him walking, and someone come up and pick him up under his arms and slam him on the ground," she said.

She said a fight broke out at Redan High School, but said her son wasn't involved. She claimed he just went to check on his friend.

In the video, Stephens can be seen entering the hallway in a blue t-shirt and jeans. Just as begins to speak, two officer try to escort him away. When Stephens moved his arm, DeKalb County School District Police Chief Brad Gober grabbed him from behind, picked him up and slammed him to the ground.

Stephens was then restrained and led away offscreen.

FOX 5 learned he was booked at the DeKalb County Jail where he spent several days on charges of obstruction of law enforcement officers and disrupting public schools.

His mother said Stephens also received a 10-day suspension from the school.

Meanwhile, Gober is on paid leave pending the outcome of an internal investigation.

"Paid leave? He needs to be brought up on charges," Stephens' mother said.

Ebony Ellebb, Amos's sister, says this is an especially difficult time for the family as she believes Amos is likely towards the end of her battle with cancer.

"You’re getting paid to stay at home," the teen's aunt, Ebony Ellebb added. "You're not learning a lesson. You’ll be back on the force doing the exact same thing to somebody else’s child. And my sister is fighting for her life, this is not something we need to be dealing with."

Ellebb says a GoFundMe has been started to help the family with medical and legal bills.

FOX 5 reached out to the school district for comment. They released the following statement:

"This standard procedure ensures a comprehensive and impartial assessment of the incident. No additional information will be provided while the investigation is ongoing."