SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — A Seminole County mother was arrested after she was caught on camera going onto a school bus to allegedly protect her daughter from bullies. Laura Booker claims her daughter was being bullied by students.
WFTV spoke with Booker on Tuesday afternoon. Booker said she just wanted to talk to the bus driver, adult-to-adult.
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Investigators released the video of Booker being taken down by police. Booker told police she was only trying to protect her daughter when the on-board camera captured her confronting a bus driver.
The bus driver was parked at Sanford Middle School and was sitting in the driver's seat. There were no kids on the bus.
Booker said she stepped on-board, never going further than the second step and having no idea she was breaking the law.
"I still don't think I did anything wrong," Booker said.
Booker held back tears as she talked about her ordeal. She insisted she was calm when she first approached her daughter's school bus driver about problems on the bus.
"I'm Keila's mom…. I'm not sure what's going on," Booker said to the driver.
But things escalated quickly when the bus driver, Roy Hooks, responded to Booker's concerns.
"That's a lying little girl. I don't care what you hear from the other students. I'm just saying the girl's a big liar," Hooks is heard saying in the video.
In the video, Hooks called Booker's 13-year-old daughter, Keila, a liar at least six times as he demanded that Booker step off the bus.
"I'm an adult and if you're treating me like this, how are you treating a 13-year-old?" Booker asked.
Booker says she didn't budge and continued to demand answers.
"There are two sides to every story, and I want to hear your side. That's why I came here," Booker told the driver.
The bus driver called Sanford police. Five officers responded and the situation got so heated that an officer told Booker she would be tased if she did not get off the bus.
"She went about it the wrong way. She went to the school, didn't check in at the front office, which you're required to do, went to the school bus, [and] got on the school bus. Technically, at that point, she was trespassing," said Sgt. David Morganstern of the Sanford Police Department.
"All I know is I'm face down on the ground. I have scratches on my arm, my chin is hurting, my chest is hurting," Booker said. "I would do it all again because it's my child. And if the people that are supposed to help aren't helping, it's our job as parents to protect our child. I'm the best advocate she has."
Booker was charged with trespassing and resisting an officer without violence.
The district said it's investigating the incident, but so far, they have taken no disciplinary action against the bus driver.
Booker said she went to him because she tried to go to the school and the district with her concerns, but got nowhere. It is the second time an incident like that has happened on a Seminole County school bus. James Jones was arrested last year when he confronted students. Deputies said Jones made physical threats.
Previous Stories: November 9, 2010: No Jail Time For Dad Who Stormed Onto Bus October 5, 2010: Family Of Girl Bullied On Bus Joins National Campaign September 17, 2010: Video Allegedly Shows Child Taunted Day Before Dad's Rant September 17, 2010: Dad Storms Bus, Confronts Disabled Daughter's Bullies
WFTV
