Student arrested after knife reported at White County High football game

CLEVELAND, Ga. – A 17-year-old was arrested at a White County High School football game after students alerted a sheriff’s deputy that another student was carrying a large pocket knife and showing it to others, according to a White County Sheriff’s Office incident report.

Emmit Daryl Darrin Harrelson, 17, was arrested Aug. 28 and charged with carrying a weapon in a school safety zone and obstructing a law enforcement officer. Booking records list the weapons charge as a felony and the obstruction charge as a misdemeanor.

The incident began around 8 p.m. while Deputy Lin was conducting foot patrol at the White County High School football game in Cleveland.

According to Lin’s report, several students approached him and appeared alarmed.

“Several students approached me in a panicked manner and stated that another student had a large pocket knife on his person and was showing it to other students,” Lin wrote in his report.

The publicly released documents provides only that initial description of what prompted deputies’ attention. It does not detail where Harrelson was located after students spoke with Lin, what happened when deputies approached him or what actions led to the obstruction charge.

The report identifies the weapon involved as a “knife cutting tool”.

Harrelson remained in custody through the weekend following the Friday night arrest. His booking sheet shows he was released Aug. 31, three days after his arrest.

The students’ decision to approach the deputy appears to have been the first alert to law enforcement that someone at the game allegedly had a knife.

The limited public narrative leaves several details of the encounter unanswered, including what deputies found when they located Harrelson and the circumstances surrounding the obstruction allegation.