A Florida woman threw a barrage of punches at a student during a fight at a bus stop moments after she shouted for one of the girls to “beat her a—, footage of the brawl showed.
Taityana D. Duffy, 28, a guardian of a student at the bus stop, was arrested Friday for “instigated, jeered and intervened” in a fight between two students and then “battered a juvenile during the incident,” according to the Haines City Police Department.
The fight started as a verbal confrontation between two juveniles waiting at a bus stop in Haines City on March 1.
Shocking footage from the fight provided by law enforcement shows one juvenile shoving another as multiple people, including adults, are seen rushing toward the ensuing mayhem at the bus stop.
The two juveniles, one in a grey shirt and the other in a red hoodie, throw punches at each other but are quickly separated by adults and other students.
However, the juvenile in the grey is then seen pouncing on top of another female student in a blue shirt and laying a series of vicious punches down on her head as she covers her head on the ground.
At this point, the video appears to show Duffy standing over them, holding out her phone to record the fight and screaming, “Beat her ass.”
The student in the red hoodie then jumps back in to pull the juvenile in the grey shirt off the other girl.
That’s when Duffy appears to be seen hitting the student in the red hoodie, shouting at him to “get the f–k off her” as the students disperse and the video ends.
Officers responded to the bus stop after receiving reports of a physical altercation and arrived to find “a complex situation with multiple people involved,” police said.
After identifying those involved, Duffy was placed under arrest.
Duffy faces charges of battery and contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
A juvenile suspect was also arrested and charged with battery.
“The involvement of an adult in encouraging and participating in a teenage fight at a bus stop is unacceptable and deeply concerning,” Chief of Police Greg Goreck said in a statement.
“This behavior not only escalates violence but also fails our community’s expectation of an adults’ responsibility to help safeguard our children. Our department is taking this matter seriously and will act to prevent such incidents in the future.”
Contributing to Child Delinquency is a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail or twelve months probation.
Battery is also a first-degree misdemeanor, punishable by a maximum of one year in jail and a $1,000 fine.
A court date for Duffy or the juvenile has yet to be set.
Haines City is about 40 miles outside of Orlando.
