Florida mom arrested for dunking 6-year-old boy in hotel pool is ex cop who lectured about bullying

The Florida mom accused of holding a 6-year-old boy underwater at a Florida hotel in revenge for him doing the same to her young son is a former police officer who lectured schoolkids about the harm of bullying, it has emerged.

Tiffany Lee Griffith, 36, told police she was a former law enforcement officer when she was arrested earlier this month for holding the boy underwater for “several seconds” after he repeatedly dunked her own son, according to a police report obtained by WPBF.

Griffith previously worked at the Punta Gorda Police Department under the name Tiffany Lee Viola from 2013 to 2018, the department confirmed to the outlet.

She worked as a school resource officer, according to several online posts, and was awarded employee of the quarter in 2016.

One online post shows Griffith teaching high school freshmen at Charlotte High School in Punta Gorda about bullying and sexting. A Facebook post by the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office about a potential threat to a high school lists Viola as the school resource deputy investigating.

Griffith, from Fort Myers, was arrested on Dec. 19th after she allegedly got in the pool at the ritzy Gaylord Palms Hotel in Orlando and started screaming at a child she believed was being too rough with her son.

She then “placed her hands on the victim’s shoulders and forcibly dunked him underwater for several seconds,”  according to the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office.

Security footage obtained by ClickOrlando captured the moment the outraged mom waded over the boy and held him down for about 2-3 seconds.

The boy got out of the pool “visibly upset” and bleeding from his nose and immediately told his parents what happened, according to police. 

Griffith then screamed at the boy’s mother and left the pool area, cops said.

She was arrested and charged with aggravated child abuse and booked at the Osceola County Jail. She was released on a $20,000 bond on Tuesday, according to WPBF.

Her husband testified at her pretrial release hearing this week that Griffith was worried that her son, who is 8 and has autism, could have been in danger. The state argued that she posed a threat to the public and requested that she remain locked up.

The judge ruled for her to make no contact with the accuser or his family, nor contact witnesses, return to the scene or consume alcohol.