Jacksonville Woman Arrested Outside IDEA Charter School
Erika McGriff, a 39-year-old Black mother, was arrested outside her child's school on 7th October 2025, after Officer Randy Holton approached her on the sidewalk while she walked with her children.
Ben Crump. Twitter post. Twitter.com Erika McGriff is punched across the face and thrown to the ground by Jacksonville Sheriff’s Officer Randy Holton.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Cell phone video, obtained via Attorney Ben Crump’s social media, shows Erika McGriff, a 39-year-old Black mother, pressed against a police cruiser, restrained by Jacksonville Sheriff’s Department officer Holton. McGriff makes a plea for mercy and turns her head to face her children and the officer, when she was struck in the face and wrestled to the ground.
Officer Randy Holton responded to an abandoned vehicle incident on the school drop-off line in front of IDEA Bassett Charter School on Tuesday, 7th October. His full body camera perspective of the incident is below.
r/PublicFreakout. u/Satansdeathsquad. Reddit.com Officer’s body camera footage. Partial cell phone video spliced in afterwards. The duplicate posting of the bystander cell phone video lacks important context, which can be found in the video above, from attorney Ben Crump’s Twitter page.
Malcom Harvey of First Coast News reported on October 10th with the statement from Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters.
Sheriff Waters says:
“Erika McGriff, 39, has been arrested on charges of battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting an officer with violence, and operating a motor vehicle while having a revoked driver’s license, all third-degree felonies and each punishable by up to five years in prison.
“So, what’s today’s takeaway?” asked Sheriff Waters sarcastically, “If you violently resist our officers, if you punch them, if you bite them, you will be arrested. If you crowd and harass our officers or any first responder after a verbal warning, you will be arrested. Officer Holton was simply doing his job.”
When body camera footage is reviewed along with bystander video, Sheriff T.K. Waters’ words become suspect. The incident began as a verbal confrontation before apparently being escalated by police. Violence —according to both videos — seems to have been initiated by Officer Holton, who initially laid hands on and struck McGriff across the face after pressing her against his patrol car. Erika McGriff fought back against her assailant and was arrested on the charges of battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting an officer with violence, and operating a motor vehicle while having a revoked driver’s license.
Jake Stofan of Action News Jax reports that Anita Gibson and Jasmine Jefferson were arrested for violating Florida’s Halo Law, according to JSO. These were the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office’s first arrests for Halo law violations. Two more arrests connected to the incident have been made since the 7th.
What began as a verbal confrontation ended in blows and blood. Both videos above show Officer Holton acting as a the physical aggressor in a situation that did not call for such a violent escalation.