July, 13, 2010
A 21-year old Oakland man shook his 18 month old daughter and threw her into traffic, according to an undercover police officer who saw it happen.
The incident occurred on Fifth Avenue near East 15th Street in Oakland around 5:39 p.m. Saturday. A Volkswagen Jetta almost hit the toddler, police say, and the car’s undercarriage burned and scraped the girl.
Later identified as John Taylor, the man then ran off, pounding on and kicking cars along the way. The police and motorists in the neighborhood chased him down and he was arrested for willful cruelty to a child, vandalism, resisting arrest and battery on a police officer.
The little girl, Jayla, lives with her mother and was visiting with her father that day.
The strangest thing about this story is the mother’s reaction. Apparently, she believes the father was trying to protect the child. In an interview with NBC Bay Area, she said:
“I’m hurting now because I know my baby’s father is in jail facing charges and I don’t feel that it is reasonable. Anybody who feels that they think that John had thrown the baby out, please get that out your mind — there is no reason to believe that. He is a great father to her.”
See interview at NBC Bay Area: Dad Tosses Tot Into Traffic: Cops, Jessica Greene, Mon. July 12, 2010.