A white apartment complex manager has been arrested after shocking video showed her slapping and pouring soda on black children using the facility’s pool.
Kim Jennings, 62, of Greensboro, North Carolina was taken into custody by police on August 3 after they were called to the Sedgefield Garden Apartments for reports of an assault.
In the viral video, Jennings is seen spraying soda on Jace Lee-Eury, 11, and hitting him in the face with the bottle just outside of the residents-only pool.
She was charged with two counts of assault on a child under the age of 12. Jace told local media that she had also pulled his little sister’s hair during the incident.
The woman said that she was infuriated with the kids who have been there before and do not live in the complex but that she ‘should’ve handled it differently.’
‘I had a soda in my hand, and I tossed it on him, and then I popped him. I did, I admit I did, and it was wrong,’ Jennings told WFMY.
‘When you’ve done it and you’ve done it and you’ve done it and you’ve asked him not to come back. I just reacted. But, I will say that I’m sorry that I did that’ she said.
In the viral video, Jennings is seen spraying soda on one boy and hitting him in the face with the bottle just outside of the residents-only pool
Kim Jennings, 62, of Greensboro was taken into custody by police on August 3 after they were called to the Sedgefield Garden Apartments for reports of an assault
The young boy, identified by his family as 11-year-old Jace Lee-eury, told WFMY that Jennings had never told them they could not return to the pool
The video lit up social media over the weekend with hundreds weighing in.
According to police, when they arrived at the apartment complex, they spoke with the two kids and their parents about the assault.
Cops determined that an assault had occurred and obtained an arrest warrant.
Jace told WFMY that Jennings had never told them they could not return to the pool.
‘She said not to come back this time. The other time she never said not to come back, so that’s why we kept going,’ Jace said.
Robert Lee-eury, Jace’s dad, said the pool is nearby their home and that’s why the kids went to cool off that day.
‘Grandma allowed them to go to the pool because it’s literally right in the next complex through the field, less than a two-minute walk,’ said Robert.
Jennings, however, says that she had told the kids to leave and not return in the past and that she was met with disrespect.
‘The other day, when he was out there, we asked him to leave, and he was mouthy,’ she said.
‘You don’t need to put your hands on nobody’s child at all. It isn’t your responsibility,’ said Robert Lee-eury, Jace’s dad (right) ‘There is a different way to go about it’
This is the pool where Jennings poured the soda on the young boy on Thursday
Jace’s parents said they understood Jennings’ message but do not agree with how she went about the situation.
‘This is child abuse,’ said Joella Lee, Jace’s mom.
‘You don’t need to put your hands on nobody’s child at all. It isn’t your responsibility,’ said Robert. ‘There is a different way to go about it.’
According to Jace, Jennings also pulled his little sister’s hair which prompted him to throw a bottle at her trying to get her to stop. That’s when the soda incident began.
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 has been arrested on two counts of simple assault — now she must be fully held accountable for her attack on these kids,’ 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 has a court date set in Greensboro in September.
The apartment complex manager says the owners are supporting her after the incident.
Residents backed up Jennings while talking with WFMY and said that they found the children disobeying her request to leave ‘disrespectful.’
Several days after the incident, graffiti was found on a shed at the apartment complex.
Jennings told the outlet she planned to file a police report for the vandalism.
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