Two adults were arrested for allegedly getting involved in a fight between elementary students in Florida.
Germikia Denise Freeman, 32, and Charles Nathaniel Webb, 37, were charged with trespassing on school grounds after a warning, disruption of an educational institution, and child abuse without great bodily harm.
The incident happened on Friday at Poinciana Elementary School in Miami, where Freeman was picking up her sons, WPLG reported. Police said that when she arrived at the parking lot, she noticed that one son was in a scuffle with one of his schoolmates.
Per the outlet, citing an arrest report, Freeman hopped out of the car, went towards the fight, grabbed the student’s arm, and “violently thrust him back and forth, causing him to fall to the ground.”
Webb is accused of yanking the victim and placing him on the hood of a car. The man also allegedly punched another kid “in the nose area” who was trying to help the student, WSVN reported.
School officials ordered them to leave the premises, and after going back and forth, Webb and Freeman left the scene with her sons.
The couple was taken into custody when they returned to the campus on Monday. The Miami-Dade County Public School District released a statement telling the community that students were “disciplined” and that the adults were arrested.
During their court appearance, Judge Mindy Glazer warned Freeman and Webb about getting into another conflict trying to protect their kids, according to WSVN.
“If you see someone fighting with your children, you need to go to the office and report it to the administration. Remember, don’t pick up any new law violations because if you do, you’ll be locked up in jail until your trial,” Glazer said. “If you see someone jumping your kids, make a complaint in the office, call the school resource officer. But don’t get involved yourself as much as it may hurt you.”
Webb informed the judge that other students have consistently bullied his children and that they have reported it to administrators in the past, per the report. They are working to transfer their kids to another school.
“This is happening so many times,” an unidentified parent told the outlet. “They’re scared to walk home because how bad these kids bully them.”
The couple’s arrest comes amid a growing trend of parents catching charges for trying to defend their children. Last week, a New Jersey father was arrested after being captured on video confronting a student inside a classroom and telling him to apologize to his daughter. In Texas, a mother was charged after officials said she made a drink concoction that resulted in her son’s bully being hospitalized.
