JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Well-known civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Harry Daniels are set to represent a Jacksonville mother at the center of a violent encounter with a police officer.
Crump and his legal team are investigating the incident that occurred at the IDEA charter school on Bassett Road in the Riverview area on Tuesday.
Bodycam footage showed the encounter that started when an officer approached 39-year-old Erika McGriff about allegedly leaving her running car parked in an intersection.
The verbal confrontation quickly escalated and turned physical as the officer attempted to arrest McGriff.
The two get into a scuffle, where JSO said she repeatedly punched and bit the officer.
The video also showed the officer attempting to gain control of McGriff, pulling her hair and putting her in a headlock.
Crump released a statement on Sunday evening, comparing the incident to the case of William McNeil Jr., whom he is also representing.
“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. 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.”
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Waters said the officer followed department rules and didn’t break the law in his actions.
McGriff was arrested and charged with battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting an officer with violence and operating a vehicle with a revoked license.
The charges are all third-degree felonies, each punishable by up to five years in Florida State Prison.
News4JAX has reached out to JSO for comment.
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