Police in Daytona Beach, Florida arrested an 18-year-old woman Monday after they say she assaulted her boyfriend during an argument – and tried to use her infant son as a weapon.
Daytona Beach Police responded to numerous 911 calls for a domestic disturbance around 4:20 PM Monday on the boardwalk near the 300 block of Atlantic Avenue.
One of the 911 calls, obtained by ClickOrlando.com, paints a disturbing picture of the violent altercation between the accused, 18-year-old Tatyana Allen, and her boyfriend.
“She took the baby by his body, and hit the baby against the man and then threw the baby down,” said one 911 caller.
“Did the baby look like it was crying or anything?” the dispatcher replied.
“The baby was screaming. It was face down in the sand. It can’t hold its head up by itself, that’s how little it was.”
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According to an incident report from Volusia County Beach Safety, over 20 witnesses described seeing Allen strike her boyfriend with her fists before trying to hit the unidentified man with her six-month-old son.
In the report, released to the Associated Press and other local media, one witness described her swinging the infant “like a bat” in an attempt to strike her boyfriend.
“As this happened, the baby’s head was not being supported and was ‘dangling,’ according to two sworn witness statements,” the report said.
Witnesses say she then dropped the baby onto the sand, and the boyfriend, believed to be the boy’s father, picked the infant up.
It is not yet known what triggered the dispute.
In fact, one of the people to call 911 was Allen herself. She told the dispatcher her boyfriend, who she said has a history of physical abuse, was drunk and high on marijuana and had began shoving her because he had refused to walk with her to the bathroom.
“I’m with my baby daddy and he had pushed me and hitting on me, and I need to you to come pick him up,” Allen said in her own 911 call.
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Beach Safety Ocean Rescue Captain Tammy Marris tells The Associated Press that the six-month-old boy, whose name is not being released at this time, was taken to a hospital Monday afternoon where he was reportedly doing OK.
Officers arrested Allen on charges of battery and infliction of physical/mental injury on a child, and she is currently being held at the Volusia County jail on a $30,000 bond.
She is to have no further contact with her son for the time being unless the Florida Department of Children and Families allows it.
- With files from the Associated Press