Baltimore Mum 'Didn't Want Son To Be Freddie Gray'
A woman who was caught on video smacking her teenage son around after he threw objects at Baltimore police said she was just trying to protect him.
The video showing Toya Graham slapping her 16-year-old son went viral on social media and won her widespread acclaim, including from the city's police commissioner.
She was dubbed "mum of the year" by many on Twitter.
"I'm a no-tolerant mother. Everybody that knows me," Ms Graham told CBS News.
"He gave me eye contact. And at that point, you know, not even thinking about cameras or anything like that," the single mother of six said.
"That's my only son and at the end of the day I don't want him to be a Freddie Gray," she said, referring to the man whose death from a spinal injury he suffered while in police custody sparked the protests .
Ms Graham said she saw her son wearing a hoodie and mask amid the protesters demonstrating hours after Mr Gray's funeral.
"At that point, I just lost it," she recounted.
"I was shocked, I was angry, because you never want to see your child out there doing that.
"Friends and everybody making comments and saying, 'You know, you shouldn't be mad at your mother, you should give her a hug.'"
