A South Florida teenager seen in a viral video throwing a 68-year-old woman against her will into a community pool at a rowdy party has been arrested.
The Broward Sheriff’s Office arrested 16-year-old Leon Balfour on Monday after he turned himself in, a local Fox affiliate reported. He is charged with battery on a person 65 years or older in connection with an incident Saturday at the Players Place community pool on Champions Way.
Video of the incident posted on Twitter showed a woman, identified as 68-year-old Nancy James, apparently trying to quiet down a rowdy pool party while walking her two small dogs. The children in the video, apparently of high school age, surrounded the woman and mocked her. Some recorded her with their cameras amid shouts to “Throw her in!”
The video then shows a teen, identified by police as Mr. Balfour, picking Ms. James up by her legs and slipping on the ground, bringing both of them tumbling to the concrete. He immediately picks her up again by her right arm and right leg and throws her in the pool, taking himself with her.
All this takes place while the two small dogs are still tethered to Ms. James’ arm by their leashes, though the dogs were able to break away before being dragged into the pool.
The video shows the partygoers fleeing the scene after Ms. James was thrown in the water.
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— #MIDNIGHTDRIVE ☔️ (@quefieri) May 7, 2017
According to a police report, Ms. James was “very frightened and upset” and was “drenched in water from her shoulders down” when authorities arrived, a local NBC affiliate reported. Ms. James also had a bruise on the bottom of her leg, police said.
Ms. James, who serves as the director of the board for the townhouse community and who had recently undergone hip surgery, according to a friend, refused to be taken to a hospital for her injuries. She was examined by North Lauderdale paramedics on the scene, police said.
“Black and blue, but you know what, he’s not gonna ever do this to anyone else,” Ms. James said.
One girl who was at the party said the boy didn’t slam Ms. James on the ground on purpose.
“He picked her up below the butt and that’s when he slipped and fell,” the girl told NBC. “We started to scream when she fell cause we thought she had hurt something. Everyone started running after that cause we all got scared.”
NBC reported seeing Mr. Balfour in handcuffs being escorted into the Broward Regional Juvenile Facility on Monday.
The teen told officers, “I messed up and I have to own up to it,” according to an arrest report.
He is due to appear in court Tuesday.
• Jessica Chasmar can be reached at jchasmar@washingtontimes.com.
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