Mom arrested for cheering too loud at graduation - WSFA.com: News Weather and Sports for Montgomery, AL.

A mother said her daughter's graduation day was ruined because of a policy she didn't agree to follow.

Before the graduation ceremony began at Iesha Cooper's high school, officials warned parents not to cheer after each individual student, explaining the seniors had decided that was the best way to make it through the ceremony quickly. Iesha's mom, Shannon Cooper, disagreed with the policy and cheered for her daughter anyway.

"I got up and I said 'Yay, my baby made it. Yes!' Just a regular cheer," Cooper said.

Those few words landed Cooper in handcuffs.

Police charged Cooper with disorderly conduct Saturday and held her in a van outside the civic center where graduation ceremonies were taking place. Cooper said officers kept her in the van for 45 minutes.

Iesha said she started crying when she came out of the ceremony and saw her mom in police custody.

"That's all I can picture: me crying, looking at the police van knowing my momma [is] in there," Iesha said.

Cooper said the policy was ridiculous.

"Don't scream, don't cheer. 'No,' I'm thinking in my mind. No, I'm going to cheer because, you know, I went through too much to get her to this point," she said. "I can't show my excitement? I can't cheer? I can't applaud her, letting her know: yes, I'm so proud of you -- like all the other years when people graduate? How can I not cheer for my child?"

Cooper said she stayed in jail for several hours before paying $225 to get out. She and her daughter both say graduation day is now a bad memory.

"I'm going to remember. She's going to remember for the rest of her life, 'my mama went to jail on my graduation day,'" Cooper said.