By Shavonne Walker

shavonne.walker@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — A Livingstone College student has been temporarily suspended and a campus security guard has been placed on administrative leave after a Monday altercation at the college, college officials said.

The student and the female security guard, whom college officials have not named, appear in a video that has been circulated on social media sites, including Twitter. The video shows the student grabbing what appears to be a cellphone from the guard.

The guard takes out her baton, and the student starts walking away. The student turns around in response to something the guard says and is shown raising her hands and saying something in the guard’s face.

The two women are face to face. The student starts to walk away again, and that’s when it appears the guard grabs the student and hits her with the baton.

Kimberly Harrington, assistant director of public relations for the college, issued a statement:

“There are multiple versions of a disturbing video being circulated of an incident that occurred on the campus of Livingstone College the morning of Monday, Sept. 18, 2017. Livingstone College Police Chief Gloria Blaire is investigating the incident, which involved a student and a security guard.

“Pending the investigation, the security guard has been placed on administrative leave and the student has been temporarily suspended, in accordance with our judicial policy. We are deeply concerned by this incident and intend to thoroughly gather all the facts and respond accordingly to ensure a safe environment for our students, faculty and staff.”

Harrington said the student did not have a parking decal, which all students must have in order to park on campus. The parking decals are $60 per year.

She said any vehicle in violation of the policy can be ticketed, booted or towed. In this case, the student ignored instructions by the security guard and entered the campus.

The incident occurred just before 10 a.m. The security guard was about to place a boot on the student’s vehicle, Harrington said.

Contact reporter Shavonne Walker at 704-797-4253.