Video: Fight between skateboarding teen, custodian at South Pasadena Middle School

South Pasadena police are investigating a fight between an unidentified skateboarding teen and a janitor on Tuesday at South Pasadena Middle School.

The incident, apparently filmed by another skateboarder and posted to YouTube, put school custodian Lupe Garcia in the hospital overnight with a fractured cheekbone, broken nose and a number of bruises, South Pasadena Unified Supt. Joel Shapiro said.

In the video, Garcia is ordering a group of skateboarders to leave the campus when one of the youths tells him to “relax” and another gets verbal.

Garcia then appears to push, verbally challenge and then chest-bump one of the teens before the two begin to grapple. The teen then pushes Garcia into some nearby bushes before blows are exchanged — apparently off-camera — and the group of skateboarders flees.

[Updated 10:10 a.m.: The YouTube video was made private on Thursday. Below is footage via KTLA-TV.]

South Pasadena Police Sgt. Robert Bartle said they were continuing to collect witness accounts.

“What we have to go by right now is the video, and that clearly shows the custodian as the primary aggressor against the kid,” Bartle said.

There does not yet appear to be evidence of an altercation before the video camera was turned on, but witnesses are still being interviewed, Bartle added.

A parent has told police that some kids at the school are saying the janitor may have been struck in the head with a skateboard after the tape ends, “but that’s hard to believe because the [skateboarding] kids appear to be running away and you can hear a teacher yell in the background,” Bartle said.

South Pasadena police Cpl. Matthew Ronnie said the fracas occurred at about 3 p.m., around the time school was letting out for the day.

Detectives have not yet identified the youths, but believe they do not reside in South Pasadena.

“The kids at the school didn’t recognize them, and there’s nothing leading us in that direction,” Ronnie said.

Police want to interview the teens and get their side of the story, Ronnie said.

“If we have the opportunity to interview the kids, it does not necessarily mean they are subject to arrest,” he added.

Skateboarding is prohibited at public school campuses in South Pasadena, Shapiro said.

When asked about Garcia’s conduct during the incident, Shapiro said schools officials would rely on police investigators to determine facts of the case.

“I’m not at liberty to jump to any conclusions,” Shapiro said. “We obviously have expectations for how employees should deal with people who are trespassing. I don’t know whether those guidelines were followed or not.”

In the meantime, South Pasadena police are providing additional security to public campuses after school hours, Shapiro said.

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