JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – In a Jacksonville case that sparked national attention, a woman accused of battery on an officer in a violent encounter outside her child’s school last fall has pleaded guilty.
Erika McGriff was sentenced to 120 days in jail on the third-degree felony charge.
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McGriff was involved in a controversial and physical arrest with a JSO officer last October outside IDEA Bassett Charter School, her daughter’s school.
Police said the encounter, which was captured on police body camera and bystander cellphones, escalated when an officer tried to address a vehicle parked in an intersection, and McGriff denied it was her vehicle.
The body camera footage shows McGriff arguing with Officer Randy Holton, saying that she was a passenger in the car and that the driver was in the school.
Holton responds: “Listen, you can get a ticket or you can keep playing these games and go to jail. I’m going to give you one chance. You created the drama.”
The encounter continues to be confrontational, and Holton grips McGriff’s upper right arm, saying he is taking her to her car.
“Please don’t grab me. Don’t grab me,” McGriff says as Holton takes hold of her right wrist with his other hand and directs her toward the back passenger door of his marked JSO SUV. “Please don’t do this in front of my child, sir.”
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McGriff tells Holton he’s embarrassing her daughter and as he turns her to handcuff her hands behind her back she begins yelling and cursing.
“You pull away from me again, you’re going to jail,” Holton says as McGriff continues screaming, drawing attention from bystanders.
Holton keeps trying to handcuff McGriff and then warns her: “I’m about to put you on the ground.”
McGriff yells that Holton is hurting her arm and bends forward, and then he whips her roughly to the ground in the street, which is wet from rain. The bystander’s cellphone video then shows Holton get behind McGriff and try to control her with a chokehold.
When McGriff regains her footing, she takes a wild swing at Holton, who says, “Oh, you want to fight?” and swings back. The two continue grappling, and McGriff again ends up on the ground, and Holton grabs her by her hair.
At one point, he is able to get behind McGriff and wrap his arm under her chin in a headlock. She starts screaming that she can’t breathe, which incites the crowd.
“She violently resisted Officer Holton and eventually punched him repeatedly and bit him with such force that she left a bite impression on his forearm,” Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters said when he first shared the body camera video with the public last fall.
The bite impression can be clearly seen in the body camera video, and McGriff’s arms can be seen bleeding from apparent wounds suffered while scuffling on the ground with Holton.
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The encounter sparked tough conversations on social media, along with outrage and debate over police use of force in Jacksonville.
It also raised questions about Florida’s “Halo Law” after two bystanders were also charged.
As the encounter escalated, Holton and McGriff became surrounded by bystanders, some of whom were yelling obscenities at him. According to Waters, at least two of these individuals violated the state’s Halo Law, which took effect in January 2025.
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The law created a mandatory 25-foot safety zone surrounding law enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency medical workers, while they are performing their jobs.
Waters said he wanted to be clear that the issue is those who harass, threaten or impede first responders. So anyone trying to help who is within 25 feet will not be charged.
“I don’t mind people standing beyond 25 feet, videoing or saying what you’re going to say, because people are going to do that, and you have the right to say what you want to say,” Waters said. “Just make sure you stand far enough away and allow him or her to do their jobs.”
A check of court records shows the cases against the two bystanders charged with Halo Law violations are still pending.