A parent of a student at West End Middle School is in jail Thursday after allegedly hitting a Metro police officer with her SUV in a school parking lot.
The Tennessean reported that Toya Kenner hit Officer Monica Blake on Wednesday when she tried to go around the officer and another parent’s stopped vehicle. Blake was monitoring the parking lot to remind parents that students could not be dropped off at that location.
According to police, Blake was talking to another parent when she saw Kenner approach. The officer proceeded to hold her hand up, signaling Kenner to stop. Instead, Kenner accelerated and hit the officer on her left side with the SUV.
WMC Action News reported that Kenner then sped out of the school parking lot. She was later arrested Wednesday afternoon and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and reckless driving.
Last December, Kenner and Blake had a previous encounter when the mother was late picking up her child from school. The officer called a meeting involving the two of them and the assistant principal to discuss correct student pick-up procedures.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Kenner slammed on her accelerator as she left, causing Blake to leap backward to avoid being hit by her SUV. The Tennessean reported that the assistant principal warned Kenner that she would not be allowed to drive on school property if such an incident were to happen again.
“There was no way for the officer to escape the assault because a vehicle was in front of the officer,” stated a police affidavit. Blake was not visibly injured in the incident. Kenner is being held on a $102,500 bond.
