Family disputes arrests

SPENCER — Police arrested a North Rowan student, his mother and uncle Wednesday after an incident on school grounds.

While police say they followed procedure, the boy and his family think officials overreacted and took things too far.

Officers arrested student Maurice Swaringen; his mother, Viola Flemming, of 110 N. Railroad Ave., East Spencer; and his uncle, Larry Harris, 32, of 327 Henderson St., East Spencer.

Swaringen, a linebacker for the North Rowan Cavaliers, said the entire incident began after he and fellow football player Jeremiah Cauthen got in line in the cafeteria Wednesday. Another student called Cauthen away for a moment, and Swaringen said he would hold Cauthen’s place in line.

But when Cauthen returned, Swaringen says, School Resource Officer Wayne Comer told him he was cutting in line and took him to the office.

Swaringen followed to find out what was going on and was told to return to the cafeteria, he said. Swaringen acknowledges cursing as he walked away.

Officer Comer approached him later in the cafeteria, according to Spencer Police Chief Lane Kepley, and asked Swaringen to come to the main office to see Assistant Principal Bill Mauldin.

Swaringen tried to walk away from Comer, Kepley said, so Comer took the boy’s arm to direct him to the office.

But Swaringen said that he did not resist. “He came up behind me, and he grabbed me.” The youth said he told Comer not to grab him and that he would cooperate.

At that point, Swaringen said another officer came and they both pushed him out of the cafeteria.

Swaringen acknowledges that he then began to struggle, and the officers wrestled him to the ground, handcuffing him. Swaringen said he didn’t want to cooperate with them because he didn’t think he did anything wrong.

Junior Lauren Lomax, who witnessed the incident, said Comer grabbed Swaringen and Swaringen put his hands up. Then a second officer came. “They grabbed him and roughed him up,” she said.

The incident would not have gotten out of hand if the officers had not acted the way they did, she said.

“He was not struggling until they started getting really, really rough with him,” Lomax said.

Kepley said Swaringen then said he’d kill the officer and proceeded to struggle and curse more.

Kepley said other adults in the cafeteria attested to the details of what happened.

At some point, an unknown student called Flemming, Swaringen’s mother, Kepley said.

Flemming said she was angry because she felt a school official should have called her.

By the time officers were ready to take Swaringen to be charged, Flemming and Swaringen’s uncle, Harris, showed up at the school.

Once she got to the school office, Flemming said she asked why officers had handcuffed her son. She said they did not respond and acknowledges she then cursed at them.

Kepley said the officers could not answer what specific charges were being brought until they got to the magistrate’s office.

“She was so irate there was no talking to her,” Kepley said.

Both adults started cursing at the officers, Kepley said.

Flemming said officers moved toward her. “They wanted to get all stupid. They were ready to fight,” she said.

She said Harris stepped in front of her and told the officers not to touch his sister and they pepper-sprayed him.

According to Kepley, Harris and Flemming were attempting to stop officers from arresting Swaringen. The officers approached the two adults to move them out of the way, the police chief said.

Kepley said an officer took out his pepper spray and Harris tried to grab it. There were four officers on the scene at the time, and the officer sprayed Harris.

Both Flemming and Swaringen say Harris never reached for the pepper spray.

When Harris was sprayed, a group of students who had gathered near the office became upset about the situation, Kepley said. Officers told them to return to their classes, and they did without incident.

Swaringen was charged with disorderly conduct, communicating threats and resisting arrest. He was given $300 bond.

Officers charged Harris with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. He was given $2,000 bond.

Flemming had her 2-year-old daughter with her at the time and was not arrested at the school.

“I feel like if I didn’t have my daughter with me they would have took me down,” Flemming said.

However, when she showed up at the magistrate’s office in the Rowan County Justice Center, officers served her with warrants, charging her with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. She was given $1,000 bond.

“It did get loud in the magistrate’s office, but it wasn’t no riot,” Flemming said.

North Rowan Principal H.K. Gaster said privacy rules prevent her from discussing any of the circumstances leading to the student’s arrest or what punishment he may receive from the school.

“When any incident happens here, we just try to enforce the Code of Conduct and school board policies and maintain order, and that was the situation,” she said.

Swaringen said he was suspended for five days.

Flemming was meeting with school officials Thursday afternoon.

Swaringen said he has never been in trouble before, and Kepley said he had the same understanding.

Flemming feels the police escalated the situation. “They handled everything the wrong way.”

Kepley said they are preforming an internal investigation due to the allegations, but at this point he feels the officers acted appropriately.

Contact Jillian McCartney at 704-797-4253 or jmccartney@salisburypost.com .