White cop's violent arrest of black mom on school run sparked 'racism' outrage... now sheriff reveals what REALLY happened
A Florida sheriff has hit out at a black mother who was detained by a white cop in a violent arrest that has sparked allegations of racism.
The incident unfolded outside a charter school in Jacksonville last week when Officer Randy Holton tried to arrest 39-year-old Erika McGriff for allegedly parking illegally and running across a busy intersection to collect her daughter.
Footage of the chaotic scene showed McGriff resisting arrest before being thrown to the ground and put in a chokehold in front of a crowd of screaming children.
At one point, Holton appeared to restrain McGriff by the neck as she screamed, 'I can't breathe' — prompting comparisons online to George Floyd's death in 2020.
But Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters — who is also black — has dismissed any hint of racial bias, saying the confrontation stemmed from McGriff 'violently resisting' a police officer who was 'just trying to do his job'.
At a press conference on Friday, Waters slammed McGriff for 'modeling and normalizing' breaking the law to 'school-age children', lying to police and violently resisting an officer including by biting him.
'This entire episode reaches beyond even law violations,' Waters said. 'It speaks to the breakdown of civil society that some in our community not only quietly accept, but actively promote... officer Holton was simply doing his job'.
McGriff's lawyer, Ben Crump, who also represented George Floyd's case in court, told the Daily Mail the video shows 'excessive use of force inflicted upon McGriff, who posed no deadly threat and was unarmed at the time'.
A Florida sheriff has hit out at a black mother who was detained by a white cop in a violent arrest that has sparked allegations of racism. The incident unfolded outside a charter school
The incident unfolded outside a charter school in Jacksonville last week when Officer Randy Holton attempted to arrest 39-year-old Erika McGriff for allegedly parking illegally and running across a busy intersection to collect her daughter from school
At one point, Holton appeared to restrain McGriff by the neck as she screamed, 'I can't breathe' — prompting comparisons online to George Floyd 's murder in 2020
Bodycam footage of the incident showed Holton approach McGriff to ask about an illegally parked car, which she said was not hers.
Holton hit back by saying, 'I just saw you get out of it' and instructed her to 'stop playing games', as she retaliated with: 'I just came to pick up my child!'
The cop tried to halt McGriff, grabbing her by the wrist, warning her she could take a ticket or face jail time for resisting arrest.
But she kept moving away and began screaming.
Holton warned her, 'if you pull away from me again, you're going to jail,' but McGriff became hysterical. 'You got me f****d up!' she shouted in front of the schoolchildren.
By this point, a crowd of children, parents, and school employees had gathered.
Things escalated after Holton put McGriff against his police car and put her wrist behind her back.
Holton appeared to hit McGriff in the head as she attempted to shove him away, and a huge, deep bite mark could be seen on his arm at one point in the footage.
Children screamed while an adult could be heard shouting, 'what the f*** is wrong with you?' at the cop as he positioned her on the ground and pulled her hair.
McGriff shouted, 'I can't breathe. Stop! Y'all please help, he's choking me,' as Holton tried to handcuff her.
Waters said she was charged with battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting an officer with violence, and operating a motor vehicle while having a driver's license that is revoked as a habitual traffic offender.
Erika McGriff (pictured) is charged with battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting an officer with violence, and operating a motor vehicle while having a driver's license that is revoked as a habitual traffic offender
A Florida sheriff has hit out at a black mother who was detained by a white cop in a violent arrest that has sparked allegations of racism
The incident unfolded outside a charter school in Jacksonville last week when Officer Randy Holton attempted to arrest 39-year-old Erika McGriff for parking illegally and running across a busy intersection to collect her daughter
The charges are all third-degree felonies, and each is punishable by up to five years in jail.
Waters said two more women were also arrested at the scene of 1800 Basset Road for obstructing Holton as he tried to make an arrest.
Anita Gibson, 59, and Jasmine Jefferson, 36, were charged with violating Florida's Halo Law, which states the public must leave a 25ft buffer around first responders who are making arrests to ensure the safety of everyone involved.
Waters said their detention marks the first time anyone has been arrested under the new law, which came into effect in January.
He said the women violated the law by 'harassing Officer Holton and failing to provide him with a 25ft area to safely detain McGriff after he gave them verbal warning to get back.'
'So what's the take away today? If you violently resist our officers, if you punch them, if you bite them, you will be arrested,' Waters said.
'If you crowd and harass our officers or any first responder after a verbal warning, you will be arrested.'
Waters added the theatrical display in front of 'vulnerable and impressionable school children' even led to one pupil to threaten to shoot up the school.
Holton began swiping McGriff in the head as she attempted to shove him away, and a bite mark could be seen on his arm at one point in the footage, as shown above
Anita Gibson, 59, (pictured above) and Jasmine Jefferson, 36, were charged with violating Florida's Halo Law, which states that members of the public must leave a 25-foot buffer around first responders who are making arrests to ensure the safety of everyone involved.
Anita Gibson, 59, and Jasmine Jefferson, 36, (pictured above) were charged with violating Florida's Halo Law, which states that members of the public must leave a 25-foot buffer around first responders who are making arrests to ensure the safety of everyone involved
'Currently there is an active pickup order for a juvenile for making threats to shoot up IDEA charter school because of this incident,' he said.
'So JSO will not tolerate those who violate the law and victimize our officers or any members of our community.'
Waters was also quizzed about whether McGriff could breathe during the ordeal.
'She could breathe,' he said, adding that her ability to loudly scream throughout indicated this.
'He (Officer Holton) was just holding her to make sure that he could keep control of her.
'It's pretty obvious that he didn't want to go too far, he wanted to make sure he followed the rules and do this the best way that could and I commend him for that.
'The hard part is, this is not an easy job, and it's not getting any easier...
'It's made more difficult when police officers come out here and try to effect the law and do the things that we're supposed to do, and then you get surrounded like that. It's dangerous.'
Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters — who is also black — has dismissed allegations of racial bias, saying the confrontation stemmed from McGriff 'violently resisting' a police officer who was 'just trying to do his job'
Pictured: McGriff with her child in the officer bodycam footage released by JSO
Holton eventually detained McGriff, who has since been charged with several felonies
McGriff's attorneys, Ben Crump and Harry Daniels, said McGriff was 'brutalized in front of her child and community' and vowed to fight her case in court.
'This disturbing video shows yet another example of unnecessary and excessive force used against a Black woman during what should have been a routine encounter,' they said in a statement.
'No mother should be brutalized in front of her child and community for something as minor as a parking issue.
'We will fight to hold the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office accountable for this inexcusable aggression just like we are fighting to hold them accountable for the excessive force we saw in the video that was inflicted upon Black college student, William McNeil Jr.'
The Daily Mail has reached out to McGriff for comment.
