A Hollywood man was arrested Tuesday night after police said he struck a child with a cellphone and caused a disturbance at a restaurant inside Aventura Mall.
According to an arrest report from the Aventura Police Department, the incident began around 7:30 p.m. at the Tap 42 restaurant, where officers were called to a disorderly conduct complaint.
Witnesses told police the man, RFO, appeared intoxicated and was being “belligerent and abusive” toward a child with him, according to the report.
Investigators said O, 24, also failed to pay his bill before leaving the restaurant.
A witness followed O through the mall and directed officers to his location near the Serafina entrance, the report stated.
When confronted by police, O appeared heavily intoxicated, with slurred speech and unsteady balance, officers wrote. He allegedly resisted arrest after being told he was not free to leave but was eventually handcuffed.
Witnesses told investigators they saw O hit the child in the back of the head with a cellphone and force a glass toward the child’s mouth in an apparent attempt to make him drink, according to the report.
The report stated that the child was crying as O dragged him through the mall, where several patrons called 911.
Police said O was yelling as he was taken into custody, drawing attention from shoppers and disrupting nearby businesses.
Jail records show he was arrested on charges of battery, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct and taken to HCA Florida Aventura Hospital for medical clearance.
The child was turned over to his mother, police said. The Florida Department of Children and Families was notified, and O was trespassed indefinitely from Aventura Mall.
He was not listed as an inmate as of Thursday morning and his bond information is unclear at this time.
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Source: Local10
