'We still haven't heard': Family of student body-slammed by officer says school never reached out
The loved ones of a Georgia high school student body-slammed by an officer last month have multiple questions surrounding the arrest.
DeKalb County School District Police Chief Brad Gober arrested the 17-year-old student after a reported fight at Redan High School in Stone Mountain, Georgia on Aug. 30. The school district said they were aware of the surveillance video and placed Gober on paid leave as an investigation ensued. However, the boy's family was not.
"In keeping with standard operating procedure, Chief Gober has been placed on administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of an internal investigation," the district wrote in a statement to USA TODAY earlier this month. "This standard procedure ensures a comprehensive and impartial assessment of the incident."
The student, whose first name is Omauri, was charged with obstruction of law enforcement officers and disrupting public school, according to DeKalb County Jail booking records. He was jailed on Aug. 30 and released on the night of Sept. 2.
Omauri’s mother LaKia Amos died on Sept. 9 after battling leukemia since her 2019 diagnosis. Amos was a home healthcare worker and mother of four. She lost her nine-year-old daughter in an accident in 2009.
Before Amos' death, the 49-year-old home health care worker said Gober needed to be brought up on charges rather than being on paid leave, according to FOX 5.
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"I have not been able to stop crying since I saw that video," Amos told the TV station on Sept. 6 while in the ICU. "All I see is him walking, and someone come up and pick him up under his arms and slam him on the ground."
Ebony Ellebb, Amos’s healthcare proxy and best friend of 25 years, said Redan High School did not reach out to Amos to inform her of Omauri’s arrest. She said she knows Omauri has been allowed back at the school and that Gober has been placed on paid leave pending the investigation but still has many questions.
“We still haven't heard anything else regarding the situation. I don't even know if he's back at the school,” Ellebb told USA TODAY. “They have had no accountability for the incident.”
Amos was in complete shock as she watched the video, according to Ellebb. Amos felt helpless that she couldn’t protect her child as she was stuck in her hospital bed. Ellebb said it was heartbreaking for Amos to watch the video and echoed reports that the mother wanted justice for her son.
USA TODAY has reached out to Redan High School as well the DeKalb County School District again regarding the status of the Gober investigation and Ellebb’s comments.
"I feel like it's definitely not right. I mean, if an investigation is going to happen, I believe that he should not be on paid leave," Ellebb said. "Especially after what was witnessed on video. You can't deny the fact that he did what he did to Omauri. So being on paid leaves pending an investigation is crazy. It’s absurd."
Ellebb said Omauri was not involved in the fight but went to check on his friend who was. She added that he was then placed in a chokehold during the filmed arrest and faced a 10-day suspension from school.
Omauri was released from jail after a $5,000 bond and the two charges, including a felony, against him are still pending, Ellebb said. As the teen's godmother, she expressed frustration that the charges and his suspension from school will follow him everywhere.
What makes the situation especially painful is that Omauri spent some of LaKia’s last days in jail.
“Those three days that he spent in jail could have been with his mother," Ellebb shared.
Jema Britton, Ellebb’s sister and LaKia’s close friend, said the charges should be cleared and removed from his personal record as they could prohibit him from going to college.
Britton is the founder of Cusp Cares, a nonprofit that addresses the school to prison pipeline and provides customized adolescent enrichment solutions. She said that Gober should face repercussions for the arrest and that school officers must undergo compassion training.
“It was Omauri this time. But if that officer is back on school grounds, I'm more concerned about the next child,” Britton shared.
A GoFundMe page to support Amos’ children has gathered nearly $4,000 as of Friday evening.
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