A chaotic scene unfolded outside a Jacksonville charter school Tuesday afternoon, and for the first time, police enforced Florida’s new “Halo Law,” which makes it illegal to interfere with law enforcement officers within 25 feet of their duties.
According to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, 39-year-old Erika McGriff, a habitual traffic offender with a revoked driver’s license, sparked the incident after leaving her running car in the middle of an intersection near IDEA Charter School on Bassett Road, News4Jax reported.
When Officer Randy Holton, serving at the school as part of the Safe Schools program, approached her, McGriff allegedly denied the vehicle was hers and began walking away.
Holton, calm but firm, gave her a fair shot: “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.”
Moments later, Holton attempts to detain McGriff, who pulls away, yelling for him not to touch her in front of her daughter. The officer then moved to handcuff her, and that’s when things turned ugly.
Witness videos show McGriff screaming, cursing, and physically resisting arrest. Holton takes her to the ground, attempting to subdue her as she fights back.
Sheriff Waters later confirmed that McGriff “punched and bit the officer,” leaving a visible bite mark on his arm captured on the bodycam footage.
More from News4Jax:
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,” Waters said.
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.
McGriff faces three third-degree felony charges:
- Battery on a law enforcement officer
- Resisting an officer with violence
- Operating a vehicle with a revoked license
Each charge carries a penalty of up to five years in Florida State Prison.
WATCH:
BREAKING – A trending video from Jacksonville, Florida, shows Erika McGriff resisting arrest and assaulting an officer by punching and biting him during a school pickup, after earlier refusing to show her driver’s license, as black bystanders accuse the officer of wrongdoing. pic.twitter.com/lZCd90jaAK
— Right Angle News Network (@Rightanglenews) October 12, 2025
Several bystanders began shouting obscenities and crowding within a few feet of the officer, prompting warnings under the state’s Halo Law, which took effect in January.
The law establishes a mandatory 25-foot safety zone around first responders, prohibiting individuals from approaching or harassing them after a verbal warning.
Those who cross that boundary with the intent to interfere can be charged with a second-degree misdemeanor.
Waters confirmed that at least two bystanders were arrested for violating the new law, the first-ever such arrests in Jacksonville.
According to the press release:
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office arrested 59-year-old Anita Gibson and 36-year-old Jasmine Jefferson after they violated Florida’s Halo Law (Statute 343.31) earlier this week.
Their arrests stem from an incident outside a charter school on Bassett Road on Tuesday, October 7, 2025. 39-year-old Erika McGriff left her car illegally parked and running in an intersection while she was picking her student up from the school.
JSO Officer Holton attempted to lawfully discuss the matter with McGriff; she escalated the verbal conversation to physical violence. McGriff punched Officer Holton repeatedly, even biting him hard enough to leave an impression.
Gibson and Jefferson were initially part of the crowd surrounding the officer and McGriff. However, Gibson and Jefferson violated the law by harassing the officer and failing to provide him with a 25-foot area to safely detain McGriff.
You can watch the bodycam footage below:
The post Habitual Traffic Offender Goes Berserk on Cop Outside Charter School, Bites Officer — Bystanders Also Arrested Under Florida’s New ‘Halo Law’ appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.