DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA: A disturbing incident that unfolded in front of the Coyote Ugly Saloon, owned by Joanna Danielle Olsen, on Seabreeze Boulevard in Daytona Beach on the evening of September 14 was captured on video by both vigilant bystanders and surveillance cameras.
Two Florida women faced arrest and felony child abuse charges following the release of alarming footage depicting them recklessly handling an infant, seemingly treating the baby as if it were a plaything.
Who were the two Florida women arrested from the Daytona Beach bar?
In the early hours of the day in question, Brianna Lafoe, aged 19, and Sierrah Newell, aged 20, were apprehended while wearing bikinis just outside Olsen's bar.
This was after local authorities received a distress call from concerned individuals who had witnessed the incident, as per local news reports.
In addition to the child abuse charges, Lafoe also faced a battery charge and was subsequently detained with a bond set at $3,500, as per the New York Post.
Meanwhile, Newell has been reported to have been released but Olsen has made no comment on the arrests or the incident.
Witness statements against the two Florida women
As per the the Daytona Beach News-Journal, an eyewitness, who captured a video of the distressing incident, informed the authorities that both women appeared to be under the influence of alcohol. The video has not been published.
The women engaged in reckless actions with the child, including "tossing" and "flipping the infant upside down" in the vicinity of the bar.
“She started throwing the baby up and down a little too aggressively," a witness named Jahada Rasheed told WESH.
Rasheed added, “Then she put the baby upside down. It was like hold up. This is getting way too far”.
The police report indicated that they threw the baby back and forth, treating the child as if it were a mere toy, with an approximate distance of 4 feet between them during these actions.
Additionally, Newell allegedly issued threats to bystanders who attempted to intervene, and while still holding the baby, confronted one of the onlookers and physically assaulted her.
Who was the victim of the Daytona Beach incident?
It is unclear whose baby was subjected to the torture, although it is noteworthy that Newell's mother was present at the scene during the incident.
According to Fox 35, the Department of Children and Families is actively investigating whether Newell is a suitable candidate to assume custody of the child.
Subsequent updates from the police have confirmed that the child has been discharged from the hospital.
