A woman is facing charges after allegedly pushing a child underwater during an altercation at a pool at the Gaylord Palms resort in Kissimmee on Friday, according to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office.Deputies responded to the resort’s pool rea around 4:30 p.m. on Friday for a reported battery involving a child. Witnesses told the sheriff’s office that three children were playing in the pool when the splashing became aggressive. The suspect, Tiffany Griffith, 36, of Fort Myers, then allegedly entered the pool and yelled at a 6-year-old boy after he dunked her 6-year-old son underwater.The sheriff’s office said Griffith then put her hands on the other child’s shoulders and forcibly dunked him underwater for several seconds. The boy exited the pool visibly upset and suffering from a nosebleed and told his parents about the incident, according to deputies.Griffith then allegedly began yelling at the victim’s mother before leaving the area. She was arrested and transported to the Osceola County jail where she is being held without bond on one count of aggravated child abuse.The Gaylord Palms has been contacted for comment, but no response has been received yet.
OSCEOLA COUNTY, Fla. —
A woman is facing charges after allegedly pushing a child underwater during an altercation at a pool at the Gaylord Palms resort in Kissimmee on Friday, according to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies responded to the resort’s pool rea around 4:30 p.m. on Friday for a reported battery involving a child. Witnesses told the sheriff’s office that three children were playing in the pool when the splashing became aggressive. The suspect, Tiffany Griffith, 36, of Fort Myers, then allegedly entered the pool and yelled at a 6-year-old boy after he dunked her 6-year-old son underwater.
The sheriff’s office said Griffith then put her hands on the other child’s shoulders and forcibly dunked him underwater for several seconds. The boy exited the pool visibly upset and suffering from a nosebleed and told his parents about the incident, according to deputies.
Griffith then allegedly began yelling at the victim’s mother before leaving the area. She was arrested and transported to the Osceola County jail where she is being held without bond on one count of aggravated child abuse.
The Gaylord Palms has been contacted for comment, but no response has been received yet.
An altercation involving students and adults near a school Monday afternoon ended with gunfire, police said.
Nobody was injured, but a building at the Sylvester Greenwood Academy in the 800 block of Chanslor Avenue was damaged. In a statement, police said somebody fired at least one shot after the confrontation happened.
Police did not say what caused the acrimony.
Officers locked down the school and a neighboring Leadership Public School campus while securing the area. Both schools remained in session throughout the ordeal.
The suspected shooter fled before police arrived. Police said they are seeking help to find him and asked anyone with any information to contact them at 510-233-1214.
Atlanta police said they were called to a home on Trenton Street on Sept. 5 after receiving a call about a stabbing.
When officers arrived, they learned that a violent altercation had occurred.
According to APD, the incident began as a verbal argument between Mondravious Jones and a 53-year-old man.
During the altercation, Jones reportedly hit the victim with a chair and grabbed two kitchen knives and attempted to stab Green.
Jones admitted to police about grabbing the knives in response to a verbal threat, but confirmed the victim had no weapon.
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A witness intervened during the altercation, preventing further injury. Despite this, the victim sustained a laceration on his arm, and the witness suffered a non-life-threatening foot injury.
During the arrest, Jones told officers, “I’m probably finna get locked up.”
Jones was arrested and charged with aggravated assault and battery. He was booked into the DeKalb County Jail.
Nearly three years after a Bay Area man died when police pinned him facedown, in a case that drew comparisons to the killing of George Floyd, the Alameda Police Department officers involved have been charged with involuntary manslaughter, authorities announced.
The charges in the death of Mario Gonzalez, 26, came Thursday. Gonzalez died after an altercation with police on April 19, 2021. No charges were filed against the officers at the time.
An initial autopsy cited “physiological stress of altercation and restraint” as one of four factors in Gonzalez’s death, along with the “toxic effects of methamphetamine,” morbid obesity and alcoholism.
The Alameda County district attorney’s Public Accountability Unit reopened the case in 2023, and a second autopsy determined that Gonzalez had died as “a result of restraint asphyxiation,” according to the prosecutor.
The case was brought by Dist. Atty Pamela Price. Elected in 2022, Price had promised in her campaign to reopen the inquiry, which had been closed without charges by previous Dist. Atty. Nancy O’Malley.
The three officers, Eric McKinley, James Fisher and Cameron Leahy, were charged with involuntary manslaughter.
Gonzalez’s death drew comparisons to Floyd’s 2020 murder in Minneapolis by then-Officer Derek Chauvin, a killing that set off nationwide protests against police brutality.
Less than a year later, police officers in Alameda responded to a report of an intoxicated person and possible theft at a local park.
Body camera footage released by the Police Department shows the officers’ interaction with Gonzalez. In the video, Gonzalez struggles to answer their questions and appears dazed. After he fails to produce identification for the officers, they attempt to pin his hands behind his back to handcuff him.
The officers determine that Gonzalez is resisting and push him to the ground, the video shows.
“We’re going to take care of you, OK? We’re going to take care of you,” one officer tells Gonzalez as they continue to restrain him.
“I think you just had too much to drink today, OK? That’s all,” the officer continues. After learning his name, the officer adds, “Mario, just please stop fighting us.”
Gonzalez can be seen facedown in wood chips, grunting and shouting as the officers hold him down.
One officer puts a knee on Gonzalez’s back and holds it there for at least four minutes, even as Gonzalez gasps for air.
“I didn’t do nothing, OK?” Gonzalez says at one point.
An officer eventually says that Gonzelez is “going unresponsive,” according to the video. The officers then roll Gonzalez over and perform CPR on him. He died at the hospital later that day.
In its initial public comment on the case, the Alameda Police Department did not mention that Gonzalez had been restrained, saying only that “officers attempted to detain the man, and a physical altercation ensued. At that time, the man had a medical emergency.”
But Gonzalez’s family saw the situation differently.
“The police killed my brother, in the same manner they killed George Floyd,” his brother Gerardo Gonzalez told reporters at the time.
Alison Berry Wilkinson, a lawyer who represented all three officers during the criminal investigation but who now represents only Leahy, called the case a “blatantly political prosecution.”
“The officers’ actions while taking Mr. Gonzalez into custody were reasonable, necessary, and lawful, and his tragic death was the result of drug toxicity, not criminal misconduct,” she said.
All three officers are still active in law enforcement and will surrender themselves in the case, Berry Wilkinson said.
A man trying to rescue a neighbor from a violent assault in a Westminster apartment complex was stabbed to death early Saturday morning, authorities said.
Alvaro Martin-Perez, 48, was trying to intervene in a dispute between roommates when he was fatally stabbed, according to Westminster Police Sgt. Jerad Kent.
“Mr. Perez’s actions were nothing less than heroic,” Westminster Police Chief Darin Lenyi said in a statement. “Tragically, his efforts to protect his neighbor cost him his life.”
A suspect was arrested after he was detained by other neighbors.
“I’m sure there are a lot of grieving families in those apartments today,” Kent said.
About 1 a.m, Westminster police officers responded to reports of a stabbing in the small 1980s-era apartment complex in the 7300 block of 21st Street. Upon their arrival, they found several apartment residents holding down the suspect, whom police identified as Isaias Saquic-Saquic, 35, of Westminster.
“The investigation revealed that there had been an argument between Saquic-Saquic and one of his roommates, which escalated into a physical altercation,” Kent said. Saquic-Saquic is suspected of stabbing his roommate multiple times with a knife, Kent said.
During the altercation Kent said that Martin-Perez “attempted to help the victim outside of the apartment and was stabbed repeatedly.”
Other neighbors were able to disarm the suspect and hold him down until officers arrived, Kent said.
The injured roommate, who was not identified, was transferred to a hospital, where he was treated for non-life threatening injuries.
Saquic-Saquic was being held in Orange County Jail on suspicion of one count of murder and one count of attempted murder, Kent said.
“I have no doubt his bravery saved the life of others in the area,” Lenyi said of Martin-Perez. “On behalf of the members of the Westminster Police Department, we extend our deepest condolences to the victim’s family.”
Paul Kessler was remembered this week as a proud Jew.
He and his family had been longtime members of Thousand Oaks’ Temple Etz Chaim, where Rabbi Ari Averbach said they had been involved over the years, though not recently.
Still, Kessler remained active in his community, recently answering a call from a neighbor to stand opposite a pro-Palestinian demonstration that popped up at a nearby intersection as the Israel-Hamas war escalated.
“Like most Jews, he has a love for Israel, believes that Jews should be allowed to live in Israel,” Averbach said of Kessler. He didn’t know Kessler’s exact views on Zionism, but the rabbi said Kessler stood for Jewish people’s right to live and prosper without harassment or fear.
Kessler held an Israeli flag Sunday afternoon at the corner of Thousand Oaks and Westlake boulevards — surrounded by almost 100 others on both sides of the dueling protests — when he became involved in an altercation with a pro-Palestinian demonstrator.
Kessler fell to ground, hitting his head. Hours later, the 69-year-old died at a hospital.
A video screen grab shows Paul Kessler receiving medical aid after suffering a head injury in an altercation with a pro-Palestinian demonstrator.
(Jon Oswaks / JLTV)
Over the last four days, people in the Conejo Valley and beyond have been mourning Kessler’s death while also awaiting the results of a law enforcement investigation into what happened. No one has been arrested in his death, though authorities have said they have identified a suspect.
The lack of a resolution in the case — and lingering questions about exactly what happened to Kessler — has hung over memorials and tributes.
Religious leaders have been trying to balance many community members’ escalating concerns that Kessler was attacked because of his support of Israel while also urging people to avoid rushing to judgment until all the facts are in.
“He has become a symbol for something bigger — that wasn’t his intention,” Averbach said. “He was not looking for trouble.”
Rabbi Michael Barclay of Temple Ner Simcha in Westlake Village — located not far from where the dueling protests took place — has asked for people to put their trust in local law enforcement and God.
“The challenge really is that there are directly conflicting statements,” Barclay said Thursday night at an interfaith event marking the 85th anniversary of Kristallnacht, which many mark as the start of the Holocaust. “We need to trust in them and have faith and not get stuck in anger.”
Law enforcement officials have said it’s still unclear what led to Kessler’s fall, explaining that witnesses from opposing sides of the protests gave conflicting statements about what occurred during the altercation and who the aggressor was. An autopsy found that Kessler died of injuries to the back of his head consistent with a fall, and ruled the manner of death a homicide — a medical determination that officials have repeatedly explained doesn’t necessarily indicate criminal culpability.
However, the autopsy also found Kessler had nonlethal injuries to the left side of his face. Kessler was found on the ground with blood coming from his head and mouth, deputies said.
The man authorities have called the suspect — who has not been arrested — was among those who called 911 after Kessler fell. Ventura County Sheriff Jim Fryhoff said the man has been cooperative with investigators.
The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office in a lengthy update late Thursday said that it is working “around the clock to track down any leads, scrutinize electronic data and corroborate witness statements.” The agency continued to ask for any witnesses to the altercation, especially those who may have driven by and captured video, such as in a Tesla, since they are equipped with video recording capabilities.
“There are photos and videos prior to and following the incident,” the statement said. “Currently, we do not have any footage of the actual incident taking place, which would be extremely helpful in this case and would undoubtedly show or could even refute criminal culpability.”
Ventura County Sheriff Jim Fryhoff, right, discusses the investigation into the death of a 69-year-old Jewish man, Paul Kessler, during dueling Israel-Hamas war protests Sunday in Thousand Oaks.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
It’s clear that tensions at the conflicting protests last weekend were high. Videos shared on social media from the afternoon showed a few pro-Palestinian protesters — before Kessler fell — yelling into megaphones, sometimes into people’s faces, that “All of Israel will burn in hell,” and “All of Israel are cowards.”
One man who was at the protest with Kessler said he saw a man hit someone with a megaphone, who he later found out was Kessler. The Times has not been able to independently verify that account without video from the altercation or additional witness statements.
Rabbi Michael Barclay of Temple Ner Simcha leads a interfaith prayer service and concert on the 85th anniversary of Kristallnacht. The service also remembered Paul Kessler, a 69-year-old Jewish man who died after an altercation with a pro-Palestinian protester.
(Al Seib / For The Times)
Imam Muhammed S. Mehtar, of the Islamic Center of Conejo Valley, said in a statement that his community stands against any form of violence and is devastated by Kessler’s death.
“When this happened, it only added another layer to the pain and suffering,” Mehtar said in an interview, speaking on his own behalf and the center’s. He was grateful for Barclay’s calls for the police process to play out, saying that jumping to conclusions without facts would make the situation no better than the violence in Israel and Gaza.
“As much as we mourn the passing of anyone, we still believe we have to follow the process at hand,” Mehtar said. “Very little is known about exactly what transpired.”
Averbach said he doesn’t want any further violence or loss. The community should remember and stand in support of Kessler, he said, but he does not want to see any retaliation.
“The world is watching this moment — what was a little interaction with neighbors is now a global crisis,” Averbach said. “I hope it is not continued or exacerbated. … I hope anyone at any rally can feel safe.”
On Wednesday, Averbach’s synagogue held a small private vigil for Kessler with his family and friends. It also invited elected and law enforcement officials as well as faith leaders, including from the local mosque.
Mourners gather to pay their respects to Paul Kessler.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
“Our community is really shaken right now,” Averbach said. “We are trying to figure how to keep living here. … To stand with us and mourn with us, that reminded me that this can — or should — be a safe place.
“I’m trying to remind people that we live in a wonderful warm community in a country that supports us, stands with us and grieves with us,” Averbach said.
Kessler, who was retired from the medical field, had a wife and two children, Averbach said. He said his family is seeking privacy.
“They’re trying to figure out, how do you grieve … a sudden loss, let alone when there’s now international attention on it?” Averbach said.
Alon Ohan, 12, left, and friend Joshua Newman, 13, join congregants as Rabbi Michael Barclay of Temple Ner Simcha leads a interfaith prayer service and concert at the Westlake Church of Latter-day Saints in Westlake Village.
(Al Seib / For The Times)
At the Kristallnacht memorial Thursday evening — planned before the Israel-Hamas war broke out — the primarily Jewish crowd felt a renewed sense of urgency for such an event, with the Oct. 7 attack on southern Israel and Kessler’s death in their hometown in the front of their minds. That ambush by Hamas militants left 1,200 Israelis dead, and an additional 240 were taken hostage. In the weeks since, more than 11,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry, as Israel launched its offensive,
“I am scared, I’ve been feeling scared as a Jew in the last few years,” said Linda Stacey, a member of Barclay’s temple who drove from the San Fernando Valley for the event hosted by the Westlake Church of Latter-day Saints.
But the 59-year-old left the night of prayer and song, calling for support of Israel and Jews, with some restored hope.
“I have faith in God,” Stacey said. “I know there’s better days ahead.”
Another member at the memorial said he spent one day this week covering the corner where Kessler had protested with as many bouquets as he could.
“I didn’t want people to think this guy didn’t matter,” said the Temple Ner Simcha member, who requested anonymity.
Elena Columbo, from Hamakom Synagogue, pauses from creating a Star of David in chalk at a growing memorial fro Paul Kessler at the corner of South Westlake Boulevard and East Thousand Oaks Boulevard in Thousand Oaks.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
Chuck Conway, another member of the temple who attended the event with his wife, said he didn’t know Kessler but it was shocking to hear about such a clash at an intersection his family often passes through.
“It just brings it really close to home,” said Conway, who lives just north of Thousand Oaks in Oak Park. “When the missiles and bombs are happening in Israel and Gaza, you feel that to a certain degree, but you really feel it when we’re two miles away and somebody — whether it was an accident or he was pushed or hit, we don’t know — but it wouldn’t have happened if there wasn’t this conflict.”
The blood-stained sidewalk where Paul Kessler died is covered in candles.
