Family: GRPS guard locker slammed girl

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) - The family of a female middle school student accuses a Grand Rapids Public Schools security guard of slamming the student into a wall of lockers after capturing video of an after-school fight.

Melanie Morgan and her daughter, Tashaya Flowers, told 24 Hour News 8 the security guard wanted a video on the student's cellphone.

The teen said she took video of a fight after school Feb. 13 near Palmer Elementary School. Later in the day, she said a female security guard asked to see the video outside of a basketball game at Riverside Middle School.

Tashaya said after the security guard saw the cellphone video, the guard asked to keep the phone as evidence. Tashaya said she refused to hand over her phone until she talked to her mother.

The teen claims after she walked away, the guard grabbed her jacket, and slammed her against lockers while another female security guard pried her phone out of her hand.

GRPS spokesman John Helmholdt confirmed the two security guards work for the district.

Helmholdt said Tashaya initially gave the phone to the officer voluntarily. Then, after reviewing the video, the officer said she wanted to confiscate the phone. Tashaya told the officer no and then tried to grab the phone, Helmholdt said, which led to the physical altercation.

Helmholdt told 24 Hour News 8 Monday afternoon he had misspoken earlier and that the guards are not on suspension. They are still on the job but are under investigation.

Grand Rapids police are investigating the incident as an assault, and the case has been assigned to a detective.

Mom and daughter say GRPS officials asked the teen to erase the original video for fear it would be uploaded to the Internet.

Tashaya claims a school surveillance camera captured the incident, and she told 24 Hour News 8 she and her mother saw that footage.

GRPS confirmed officials have reviewed the tape as part of the district's investigation. Helmholdt said the surveillance video shows there is "more to this story."