Nationwide — Renee Lambert, a 34-year-old mom from Fort Myers, Florida, was arrested after she allegedly kicked a 13-year-old boy during a youth football game brawl. Deputies charged her with child cruelty and resisting an officer after reviewing witness statements and video evidence.
Deputies responded Saturday to Brooks Park in Fort Myers after a fight broke out during a youth football game. The situation escalated on the field as parents and spectators rushed in to break up the disturbance.
According to NBC News, witnesses told deputies that a woman repeatedly kicked a teenage boy while he was on the ground during the chaos. Authorities later identified Lambert as the suspect as she attempted to leave the area.
Investigators spoke with multiple witnesses at the scene. One witness, Andre Valdes, supported the allegation that Lambert kicked a juvenile player during the altercation.
Body camera footage showed Lambert arguing with deputies and denying the accusations as they detained her. She claimed she had been hit first and questioned why officers were not focusing on the player she accused, identifying a boy wearing a No. 9 jersey.
As deputies placed her under arrest, Lambert resisted and continued to insist she acted in self-defense. Officers told her she was being detained based on witness accounts that placed her at the center of the incident involving the child.
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office later booked Lambert on suspicion of child cruelty without great bodily harm and resisting an officer.