Ocala Police: White woman threw bag of watermelon and cotton at Black child, age 11
Ocala police have arrested a white couple and accused them of harassing and stalking a Black family and others who live in a southeast Ocala neighborhood.
Daniel N. and Kyndall R. Raatz were taken into custody on May 1. The husband was held on charges of aggravated stalking of a child younger than 16/hate crime and making harassing telephone calls. His wife was held on charges of assault/hate crime, aggravated stalking of a child younger than 16/hate crime, and making harassing telephone calls.
Jail records show the Raatzes were released from the facility after posting bond on May 3.
Officers said the trouble started with an altercation between the children of the two families. Police said the Raatzes used racial slurs, allegedly displayed a firearm at children, and called another neighbor, not involved in the dispute, multiple times on the phone.
According to an arrest report, the 11-year-old Black victim had a plastic bag containing cotton and watermelon thrown at him by Kyndall Raatz. This was witnessed by numerous people, the report says.
The juvenile told an officer that the bag hit him in the head. Witnesses and the victim told officers about racial slurs and other rude and derogatory comments directed at him and his family.
The boy told police the words scared him and made him feel harassed and bullied.
Another child, who is of mixed race, told police the couple verbally abused him almost every day for nearly two months. The comments were made via a megaphone.
The address of the Black family was posted on a sign at the neighborhood's entrance, officers said. The sign said they were drug dealers, convicted felons and bad people.
An officer interviewed Kyndall Raatz. According to the report, she said there was an incident between her child and the Black child. She told the officer she was at the bus stop at Southeast 38th Street and 47th Avenue when she and a parent of the other child had an argument.
She admitted going to the bus stop with a megaphone and shouting obscenities at the child, the report says. She said she threw watermelon at the child, but did so because she was accused of being a racist.
She said the watermelon never hit the child, and told the officer it was a childish gesture. Though she said she told the child to pick it up, referring to the watermelon, she said she never uses racial slurs. When shown the bag containing the watermelon and cotton, Raatz said it was her bag, the report says.
Police interviewed the Black child's father. He said Daniel Raatz once flashed a gun at him, which scared him. The man said he was afraid of Kyndall Raatz's actions and the escalation. The man's son told him about his experience with Kyndall Raatz and how she treated him.
Local attorney Stephen G. Murty said in a statement to the Star Banner that he represents Daniel and Kyndall Raatz in this case.
"These parents are shocked their attempts to protect their child from bullying and physical violence over the last months has resulted in their arrest. They will fully defend themselves and look forward to revealing all the facts regarding this case. They expect due process and fairness will exonerate them of these charges," the statement reads.
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Officers said they believe the Raatzes engaged in an ongoing course of verbal (and sometimes physical) harassment that served no legitimate purpose and caused emotional distress to the children. Police said Daniel Raatz was driving his wife around during the harassment.
A woman who lives in the neighborhood told officers the Raatzes had been calling her phone early in the morning complaining about her Facebook posts. She said even though she blocked their number, they still call her. She described the couple's behavior as aggressive and concerning.
Contact Austin L. Miller at austin.miller@starbanner.com
This article originally appeared on Ocala Star-Banner: Ocala police say neighborhood dispute turned racist; two arrests made
