JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville case that sparked national attention and tough conversations on social media about policing in Jacksonville will be back in the spotlight Thursday.
Erika McGriff was set to appear in court Thursday morning for a pretrial hearing. However, only her attorney attended her pretrial hearing. This was the first pretrial in the case.
Last fall, McGriff was in a controversial and physical arrest with a JSO officer outside IDEA Bassett Charter School, her daughter’s school.
This court appearance will come months after the arrest sparked outrage and debate over police use of force in Jacksonville.
McGriff was arrested while picking up her daughter from school.
Police said the encounter escalated when an officer tried to address a vehicle parked in an intersection, and McGriff resisted arrest.
Body camera and cellphone video show the confrontation turning physical, with McGriff ending up on the ground.
McGriff is now charged with battery on a law enforcement officer, resisting with violence, and driving with a revoked license — all felony charges.
High-profile civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Harry Daniels are now representing McGriff.
Daniels and Crump have recently called out JSO for excessive use of force.
McGriff also spoke publicly last year, saying she was just trying to keep her child from walking in the rain.
Her attorneys said she couldn’t say much because she is facing charges, but her godmother spoke on her behalf.
“As I stand here, my stomach dropped because my mind went immediately to the video. I did not want to watch the video, but my daughter was like, ‘You have to watch the video.’ That’s my goddaughter, that’s my sister, they can’t even watch the video, you can’t imagine what it will do to a mother to see your child being dug into the ground, beaten, punched, by a man, and all she was doing was to go pick up her children, pick up her child,” she said.
Right after the arrest, Sheriff T.K. Waters addressed the public about the situation.
He said McGriff started this when she parked her car in the middle of an intersection and walked away, leaving it running.
He said Officer Randy Holton tried to talk to her about it, but she denied the car was hers and kept walking away.
Waters went on to say, “It’s shocking when you square up to fight a police officer when maybe you were going to get a citation.”
If convicted, McGriff could face five years in prison.
McGriff’s next court date was set for Feb. 12.