A Waukesha student involved in a parking lot brawl says it was racially motivated. Police say that's not true.

A fight at a Waukesha shopping center resulted in the arrest of six Waukesha high school students, but police said it was not racially motivated, as portrayed in a TV news story.

City of Waukesha police officers responded to the report of a fight on Sunset Drive shortly after 9 p.m. Feb. 3, according to a police news release.

Five 17-year-olds and a 15-year-old were arrested, police said.

Those involved are all students at Waukesha West and Waukesha North high schools, according to a statement from the Waukesha School District.

Through an ongoing investigation, watching video and with the help of school resource officers, police determined there were no racial slurs uttered before the fight by the 17-year-olds, according to the release.

That's a different picture than the one painted by the 15-year-old boy and his mother, who appeared on camera the day after the fight in a TV news story. 

Rather, the fight was due to the 15-year-old damaging the vehicle of one of the 17-year-olds. The only racial slurs that were used were uttered by the 15-year-old before the fight, police said.

The five 17-year-olds who were arrested tried to leave the situation peacefully before the 15-year damaged their car, according to police. The altercation occurred after the 15-year old threw food on and hit the 17-year old’s vehicle. 

In the news story, the 15-year-old told a reporter, "They just started yelling, 'Go home, n-word, go home n-word.'"

Police said that wasn't the case.

"Throughout our investigation, we have determined that the actions, and racial insults said by the 15-year-old are what instigated this fight," the release said. "The 15-year-old was arrested in this matter due to his behavior."

Police said they issued the media release because many uninvolved student-athletes at North High School have been receiving threats.

They also said the amount of information they can release is limited because of the ages of those involved. 

Police said they're referring child abuse charges for four of the 17-year-olds to the Waukesha County District Attorney's Office.

Two disorderly conduct charges are being recommended for the 15-year-old.

Police added that the investigation is continuing, so "numbers might change."

The District Attorney's Office will make the final determination on charges. 

The Waukesha School District issued the following statement about the incident:

"It has been brought to the attention of the School District of Waukesha that a physical altercation took place in the community of Waukesha on the evening of February 3, 2020. The altercation occurred among several Waukesha West and Waukesha North students. In addition to a video of the altercation being posted on social media, a local news station interviewed the family of a participant who reports being the victim of racial slurs.

"Collaborative discussions are taking place between district and high school administrators to ensure that Board of Education policies are being followed around student discipline. The actions of the involved students are not representative of the values of the School District of Waukesha."

Contact Bob Dohr at 262-361-9140 or bob.dohr@jrn.com. Follow him on Twitter at @BobDohr1.