Renowned civil rights attorney Ben Crump called the arrest of a Florida woman outside of her daughter’s school another moment of “excessive force” by a police department.
Speaking at The Sanctuary at Mt. Calvary Church in Jacksonville, Crump was joined by Erika McGriff, the woman whose arrest was captured on cell phone video when she could be seen in a scuffle with an officer of the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. Body cam footage of the arrest was released on Friday (Oct. 13) after McGriff was approached by an officer on Oct. 7 outside IDEA Bassett Charter School.
“Nobody went toward this officer,” Crump told the crowd. “The school principal didn’t get charged. He was right there trying to pull (McGriff) off. That’s why we say this law is arbitrary and capricious. It’s selective prosecution. If you expose the police brutality, then they will want to criminalize you. That’s what this law is about.”
McGriff also spoke, recalling asking the principal what the proper procedure was for picking up students who were walking while it was raining.
“It’s uncalled for and it’s not fair,” McGriff said. Her godmother added that McGriff and the family had post-traumatic stress disorder and that PTSD should not be part of the Black community — brought on by the police department.
In the video, the officer can be seen attempting to bring McGriff to his vehicle before a fight between them. McGriff was later taken to the ground and repeatedly claimed she couldn’t breathe as the officer attempted to place her in handcuffs. In a police report, JSO claims McGriff hit the officer and bit him during the altercation. She’s been charged with battering a law enforcement officer, resisting arrest with violence and driving with a suspended license.
Crump and fellow attorney Harry Daniels claim the officer did little to nothing to de-escalate the situation between him and McGriff and used excessive force.
“The type of force used on Erika McGriff, the chokeholds, the hair grabbing, the being punched with closed fists in the face, having a knee put on her neck, should be reserved for armed and dangerous criminals who are a threat to the public and our safety, but not for mothers who are double parked to go pick up their daughter from school so she won’t get rained on,” Crump said.
Watch Crump’s full press conference below.
