Two arrested at graduation

ROCK HILL, S.C. -- Most people get choked up and excited at graduation. But one family’s excitement landed them in jail. Arrested and handcuffed for cheering.

More than 500 Fort Mill High School Students graduated Saturday at Winthrop Coliseum. The audience and the graduates were told in advance that cheering during the ceremony was forbidden. They were even warned that if they did make noise, they’d be removed from the coliseum by the Rock Hill Police.

But one family says they had no idea just how far the police would go. “I think this was one time for my son to go out of his box. And it was the wrong time to do it,” said the father who asked not to be identified.

Two of his children were arrested and handcuffed by police for cheering when their sibling’s name was called.

“There was no profanity,” said the dad. “And they were both put in handcuffs,” he said.

The siblings were also slapped with a criminal charge. Four other people at the Fort Mill High Graduation were also arrested. Another man was arrested at the York Comprehensive High School commencement for cheering as well.

The father of the Fort Mill High student thinks the punishment doesn’t fit the crime. He wishes the principal had been more specific. “All he had to do is say ‘Folks, don’t yell for an individual. If you do, you’ll be prosecuted’. And if he would’ve said that, no one would have said anything,” he said.

The father would like the city to look into the matter. The siblings can enter a program for first time offenders. But they will have to pay $625, attend counseling, drug testing and perform community service.