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Erika McGriff has provided further insights into her injuries following the release of footage showing Officer Randy Holton punching and pulling her hair during her arrest.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Accompanied by renowned civil rights lawyer Ben Crump, Erika McGriff addressed the public for the first time since her arrest at a press conference in Jacksonville Tuesday morning.
First Coast News broadcasted McGriff’s press conference live, and it remains accessible on First Coast News’ YouTube channel and First Coast News+.
Following the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office’s release of bodycam footage on Friday, McGriff, 39, is offering her side of the incident. The video shows Officer Randy Holton aggressively pulling McGriff’s hair and punching her. In response, Crump and his legal team are detailing their findings from their ongoing investigation.
McGriff faces multiple charges, including battery against a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest with violence, and driving with a revoked license, which are third-degree felonies. These charges are related to an incident from Tuesday, Oct. 7, outside IDEA charter school on 1845 Bassett Rd. in Jacksonville.
At a news conference on Friday, Sheriff T.K. Waters mentioned that McGriff is a “habitual traffic offender,” noting her history with traffic violations. He explained that she parked her car illegally while driving on a revoked license, leaving it running and unattended at a busy school intersection.
Crump is aiming to hold JSO accountable for what he describes as an excessive use of force against McGriff, who, according to him, was unarmed and posed no deadly threat.
In a statement, Crump called the footage “disturbing,” saying it is “another example of unnecessary and excessive force used against a Black woman during what should have been a routine encounter.”
Waters stated that Holton initially approached McGriff to have a conversation, but claimed she was non-compliant.
“She violently resisted Officer Holton and eventually punched him repeatedly and bit him with such force that she left a bite impression on his forearm,” Waters said.
Crump’s investigation is also focusing on footage where McGriff is heard saying “I can’t breathe” and “help” more than 20 times while on the ground.
“We send it to our use-of-force experts to review everything he (Holton) did during the process, and he followed the rules,” Waters said. “He followed the law.”
Jail records show McGriff was released from the Duval County Jail Oct. 9, two days after her arrest, and also show she is set to make her first court appearance Oct. 29.
