Florida parents charged after caught on video pushing and punching school police officer
Two Central Florida parents were charged criminally after a mother pushed a middle school resource officer and the father punched her in the face, authorities said Wednesday.
Jorge Rivera, 46, and his wife, Dagmarie Aponte Iturrino, 45, were charged Tuesday with battery on a law enforcement agent and armed robbery, among other charges, because Rivera took the deputy's taser weapon after she had been knocked to the ground.
According to an arrest report, Rivera became angry during a meeting in the deputy's school office after she told the parents that another student wouldn't face charges for throwing a shoe at their 11-year-old son, who also was in the office during the confrontation. When Rivera began insulting and cursing at the deputy, she calmly asked them to leave, the report said.
In a hallway after exiting the office, Aponte Iturrino placed herself between the deputy and her husband and pushed the deputy, the report said. During the struggle, Rivera punched the deputy in the face and then took her taser, according to bodycam video released by the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.
After a few moments, the deputy got on her feet, drew her weapon and ordered Rivera to drop the taser, the report said. She then handcuffed Rivera. The deputy was treated by paramedics for a possible concussion and taken to a hospital for treatment, according to the report.
"To say, 'I'm furious,' is beyond," Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood said at a news conference. "There's no reason I have a deputy with a concussion for something so trivial."
Online court records showed no attorneys for the parents.