A rather benign situation almost turned into a tragedy at a school in Florida, in the United States, when parents attacked a policewoman.
The event was filmed by the officer’s body camera last Tuesday.
In the video obtained by CNN, the parents, Jorge Rivera and Dagmarie Aponte Iturrino, are encountered by the police officer due to a stampede which allegedly involved their boy on the premises of the school.
The officer then tried to explain to the couple, who were already showing signs of aggression, the civil trial process related to the incident.
Capture taken from body camera video obtained by CNN
The parents then left the officer’s office with their son, but the situation escalated in the hallway.
It is at this moment that the mother throws herself at the agent. The father then joins the fray.
The man first hits the officer and then steals her electric pulse gun. He hits her again and knocks her to the ground.
“Put that down right now, dammit!” the policewoman shouts at him.
Capture taken from body camera video obtained by CNN
The father, who gets rid of the weapon, is subsequently restrained by the school principal, and the officer handcuffs him.
The two restrained parents were escorted out of the building.
Risk of escalation
The event nevertheless outraged the sheriff of Volusia County in Florida who expressed the seriousness of the action committed by the father.
“During training, if you lose your taser, you automatically switch to your firearm,” Milt Chitwood said at a press conference. So if you grab an agent’s stun gun, you can almost expect to be shot… Fortunately, that’s not what happened in that confined space.”
Capture taken from CNN
Mr. Chitwood cannot understand how such an event could have taken such a major turn.
“I cannot emphasize enough: a civil citation is not a criminal charge,” he said. There’s no reason for an officer to be home with a concussion over something so trivial. It’s absolutely out of control. This shows what teachers and administrators have to deal with: out-of-control parents.”
