Yesterday, Sept. 19, CA- Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced that a 36-year-old woman had been charged in connection with the violent pepper spray attack on a group of teenagers at a Taco Bell in Carson, an incident captured on video and widely circulated online.
“While I’m relieved that none of the young victims suffered significant injuries, the nature of this attack is deeply troubling,” District Attorney Gascón said. “As adults, we have a responsibility to be role models for our young people, and violence in any form is never an acceptable response. Our office will continue to hold those accountable who endanger the safety and well-being of others in our community, especially our youth.”
Nicole Coleman of Carson was arrested Sept. 16 and charged Sept. 18 with one felony count of assault with a deadly weapon. She’s also charged with one count of use of tear gas, and three counts of child abuse under conditions other than great bodily harm or death, all misdemeanors. She pleaded not guilty during her arraignment on Sept. 18, Dept. 12 of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, Compton Branch. Her preliminary hearing setting is scheduled for Oct. 10.
If convicted on all counts, Coleman faces a maximum sentence of six years in state prison.
Videos captured from two different angles of a Sept. 11 altercation went viral two weeks ago, allegedly showing Coleman confronting a group of Carson High School students before spraying them with pepper spray, then allegedly attacking the teenage girls, punching and throwing one victim to the ground.
The next day, a coalition of parents and community activists called for the public’s help in identifying an African American woman who pepper sprayed and assaulted the students on Sept. 11.
“The video of a grown woman pepper spraying and assaulting students was horrific. No adult should ever attack a child,” said community activist and director of Project Islamic Hope, Najee Ali. “We’re calling for the public’s help to identify this child beater and bring her to justice.”
He and his group of concerned parents said they met with the Dean of students at Carson High School and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. Both have launched an investigation.
Ali thinks it’s likely the students provoked the attack but insists that the woman should have called the police to address the situation.
Further, he believes the LAUSD should invest in hiring safety ambassadors before and after school hours and known student hangout spots off-campus to enhance adult supervision.
A major disturbance involving hundreds of juveniles forced a busy shopping mall in Carson to close Saturday night.
This past July, more than 200 teens gathered at the SouthBay Pavilion Mall causing a major disturbance that resulted in a trash can being lit on fire and illegal fireworks set off inside a store at the mall. More than 70 teens were detained.
This incident isn’t the first time Ali stepped in looking for justice for children assaulted by adults.
Last year, the 13-year-old honor student, Kassidy Jones, was attacked at a McDonald’s in Lomita in an unprovoked assault captured on a smartphone video that quickly became viral.
Skipp Townsend, the executive director of 2nd Call believes that school districts like LA Unified should be investing in Safe Passage programs and personnel with the skill sets and life experiences to work as community and school ambassadors.
“The way I see it, they can in what we call safe passage, they can provide funding for safe passage for at least four individuals, that know the direction the kids should be going and know the hot spots to McDonald’s and In-and-out Burger, or whatever is in that area. You have to hire from that area,” Townsend said. “There should be a couple of people who could pass the Live Scan and go on campus and get word of who’s going to fight or get bullied. These are things that won’t come to security or school police. These are things that will come to community members.”
According to its mission statement, “2nd Call is a community-based organization designed to save lives by reducing violence and assisting in the personal development of high-risk individuals, proven offenders, ex-felons, parolees, and others who society disregards.”