According to Eatonton Police Chief Howell Cardwell, law enforcement received a call on Wednesday, April 27, regarding a bus driver that needed help on Mathis Drive.
Reportedly, Erica Burke, the parent of a student on the bus, verbally and physically abused the bus driver. According to Cardwell, her child was on the school bus using a cell phone against school rules, so the bus driver asked the student to put it away.
When the student refused to put away the phone, they reportedly began to act out. According to Chief Cardwell, school rules state that if a student is breaking school rules on the bus, then they are driven back to the school. Reportedly, the bus driver attempted to do this when Burke knocked on the door of the bus and demanded to be let on and get her child off.
According to Cardwell, no adults, other than school personnel, are allowed on the school bus, so the driver did not open the door. However, the child pushed the emergency panic button opening the door, and Burke climbed into the bus.
Reportedly, the bus driver was trying to block the angry parent from walking down the aisle when Burke grabbed the driver by their hair. Allegedly, Burke dragged the driver off the bus by her hair once and then twice, after the driver had made it back on the bus again.
According to Chief, children were on the school bus during the incident and witnessed the assault. An officer responded to the scene and arrested Burke on charges of terroristic threats and acts, disrupting public school and cruelty to children of the third degree.