An Upper Darby Township mother is free on bail, after police arrested her for forcing her daughter to fight another girl. It happened over the weekend, and a bystander caught it all on cell phone video.
In the video, you hear the mother, 45-year-old Michele Davenport, say to her daughter's opponent, "I want to see her kick your a**, that's what I want to see." The fight was instigated not by the two girls involved, but by Davenport, who can be heard warning bystanders to stay out of it. "And I'm her mother, and she's going to do it. And not one of these girls is going to f***ing jump in, because if they jump in, I'm jumping in, you understand me?"
Police say Davenport insisted that her daughter stand up for herself, claiming that the girl had been bullied. So Davenport's daughter throws the first punch, her mother encouraging her the entire time. Davenport is heard saying, "Get her down now."
FOX 29 is not revealing the identities of the girls, since they're under age. And we had to heavily edit the audio before we could broadcast the fight, because of all of Davenport's profanity. Police say it's not an example any adult should set. "You got her daughter with a bloody nose, you got the other kid with a concussion, all because the mother acted like a moron, pure and simple," Superintendent Michael Chitwood of the Upper Darby Police Department told reporters.
Police say the other girl, who is also 12, sustained a concussion from the fight. They say her parents had to take her to the hospital that night. The video was shot on a cell phone by one of at least three other girls who witnessed the fight. At one point, one of them says she doesn't want to watch anymore. The girl in blue even holds out her hand to Davenport's daughter to make peace. But Davenport won't allow it, yelling at her daughter to keep fighting.
Mary Poulton knows Davenport's daughter. "She's a nice kid," Poulton told FOX 29. "I don't believe she was pushed into fighting." Superintendent Chitwood told reporters he charged both mother and daughter with assault because, "We have to send a strong message. We will not tolerate it, especially when there's injuries."
Tuesday, June 18 2013 6:58 PM EDT2013-06-18 22:58:16 GMT
Under a "doomsday" budget now being enacted, schools and students in the city of Philadelphia are facing devastating losses. Philadelphia is trying to convince the state not to let it happen.
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Thursday, June 13 2013 5:44 PM EDT2013-06-13 21:44:11 GMT
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If you hated going to traffic court in Philadelphia, you won't have to anymore! Today, Governor Tom Corbett signed a bill abolishing traffic court,effective immediately.
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City administration officials came before a City Council committee with orders not to talk about the building collapse, but that didn't stop council members from raising questions.
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The actor James Gandolfini, best known for his award-winning portrayal of New Jersey mobster Tony Soprano in the HBO series "The Sopranos," has died in Italy. He was 51.
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New York state and Eastman Kodak Co. have reached a deal that will keep some of the troubled company's operations in Rochester and provide $49 million for environmental cleanup at the once bustling Eastman...
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Wednesday, June 19 2013 6:51 PM EDT2013-06-19 22:51:22 GMT
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More than 70 percent of New Jersey residents have seen or heard the state's "Stronger than the Storm" advertising campaign, according to a new Rutgers-Eagleton poll.
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The FBI has found possible human remains in a dig at the New York City house once occupied by a famous gangster. An FBI spokesman confirmed Wednesday that agents found material that they want to test as part of an investigation.
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Video captures a mom who appears to force her daughter to fight with another girl.
