“No mother should be brutalized in front of her child and community for something as minor as a parking issue.”
On Sunday, attorneys Ben Crump and Harry Daniels announced they will represent a woman from Jacksonville who was taken into custody after allegedly biting and striking a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office officer.
The incident involved Erika McGriff, aged 39, who faced arrest on Tuesday, October 7. The arrest occurred because she parked her vehicle illegally at an intersection close to IDEA charter school on Bassett Rd., as stated by JSO during a press briefing.
Crump released the following statement:
The video in question is troubling, as it depicts another instance of excessive and unwarranted force used against a Black woman in a situation that should have been routine. It is unacceptable for a mother to endure violence in front of her child and community over a minor parking violation. We are committed to holding the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office accountable for this unjust aggression, much like we are pursuing accountability for the excessive force used against Black college student William McNeil Jr. seen in another video.
In the press release, Crump discusses the video and audio recordings, which feature McGriff telling the officers, “I can’t breathe,” and pleading for assistance. According to Crump, McGriff “posed no deadly threat.”
Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters stated that when the officer on the scene tried to engage in conversation, McGriff “escalated the verbal conversation to physical violence.”
McGriff now faces charges of battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest with violence, and operating a vehicle with a revoked license. All are third-degree felonies, each carrying a potential sentence of up to five years in prison.
