On December 8, 2019, Jessica Long took her 16-year-old son to the emergency room at Atrium Health – Lincolnton because she was worried he was having a mental health emergency. Instead of getting treatment, he was violently assaulted by hospital security guards and a Lincoln County sheriff’s deputy. Footage shows the boy being thrown, slammed into the ground face first, tased, and punched. This was all caught in camera.

https://www.wbtv.com/2020/02/14/video-shows-teen-assaulted-by-atrium-security-lincoln-co-sheriffs-deputy-outside-er/

Maureen Swick, the Executive over Security at Atrium Health, stated during an interview with WBTV that she saw nothing wrong with how her guards handled an unarmed teenager having a mental health crisis. Sheriff Bill Bleam not only denies that the boy was punched (which is clear on camera) but that his deputy did nothing wrong. Instead of getting a mental health evaluation, the boy spent 8 days in juvenile detention and is now facing felony charges for assaulting a police officer.

This petition is to support the Long family and to tell Atrium Health and the Sheriff's office that this is completely unacceptable behavior. Maureen Swick needs disciplinary action, the security guards should be fired, and the deputy who punched the boy should be charged with assault along with the guards. In light of the circumstances, the felony charges against the teen need to be reevaluated.