A white manager of an apartment complex was arrested after shocking video was seen hitting and pouring lemonade on black children using the complex’s pool.
Kim Jennings, 62, of Greensboro, North Carolina, was arrested by police on August 3 after being called to the Sedgefield Garden Apartments over reports of an assault.
In the viral video, Jennings can be seen spraying 11-year-old Jace Lee-Eury with lemonade and hitting him in the face with the bottle right in front of the residents-only pool.
She was charged with twice assaulting a child under the age of 12. Jace told local media that she also pulled his little sister’s hair during the incident.
The woman said she was angry at the children, who have been there before and don’t live at the facility, but she “should have handled it differently.”
“I had a lemonade in my hand and I threw it at him and then I slammed him. I did that, I admit, and it was wrong,” Jennings told WFMY.
“If you did and you did and you did and you asked him not to come back. I just reacted. “But I have to say I’m sorry I did that,” she said.
In the viral video, Jennings can be seen spraying a boy with lemonade and hitting him in the face with the bottle right in front of the residents’ pool
Kim Jennings, 62, of Greensboro, was arrested by police on August 3 after being called to the Sedgefield Garden Apartments over reports of an assault
The little boy, identified by his family as 11-year-old Jace Lee-eury, told WFMY that Jennings never told them they weren’t allowed to return to the pool
The video caused a stir on social media over the weekend, with hundreds reporting.
According to police, when they arrived at the apartment complex, they spoke to the two children and their parents about the assault.
The police determined that it was an assault and obtained an arrest warrant.
Jace told WFMY that Jennings never told them they couldn’t return to the pool.
“She said not to come back this time. “The other time, she never said not to come back, so we kept going,” Jace said.
Robert Lee-eury, Jace’s father, said the pool was close to their home and so the kids went to cool off that day.
“Grandma allowed them to go to the pool because it’s literally right at the next facility across the field, less than a two-minute walk,” Robert said.
However, Jennings says that in the past she has told the children to leave and not to come back and that she was treated with disrespect.
“The other day when he was out there we asked him to leave and he was muzzled,” she said.
“You don’t have to touch anyone’s child at all.” “It’s not your responsibility,” said Robert Lee-eury, Jace’s father (right). “There’s another way to go about it.”
This is the pool where Jennings poured the lemonade on the boy on Thursday
Jace’s parents said they understood Jennings’ message but disagreed with how she handled the situation.
“This is child abuse,” said Joella Lee, Jace’s mother.
“You don’t have to touch anyone’s child at all.” “It’s not your responsibility,” Robert said. “There is another way.”
According to Jace, Jennings also pulled his little sister’s hair, which prompted him to throw a bottle at her to get her to stop. That’s when the soda incident started.
The parents have enlisted the legal help of several prominent attorneys, including Ben Crump and Jason L. Keith.
In a tweet, Crump called for accountability for the apartment complex manager.
“She was arrested on two counts of minor assault – now she must be held fully accountable for her attack on these children,” the attorney wrote.
Dozens of supporters gathered outside the complex on Friday to show their support for the family.
Dozens of supporters gathered outside the complex on Friday to show their support
The incident happened at Sedgefield Gardens in Greensboro, North Carolina
Jennings is scheduled to appear in court in Greensboro in September.
The manager of the apartment complex says the owners will support her after the incident.
Local residents supported Jennings, speaking to WFMY, saying they felt it was “disrespectful” that the children didn’t comply with her request to leave the house.
A few days after the incident, graffiti was found on a shed in the apartment complex.
Jennings told the outlet that she plans to file a police report about the vandalism.