City Commissioner Threatened 11-Year-Old With Gun for Inappropriately Touching Daughter: Police
A city commissioner in Lake Wales, Florida, was recently arrested after allegedly threatening an 11-year-old boy for inappropriately touching her daughter, according to WFLA.
According to an arrest affidavit from the Polk County Sheriff's Office, on Wednesday, police responded to a call of an armed disturbance at 954 Lyon St. in Lake Wales. The city commissioner was identified as 41-year-old Kristen Fitzgerald, and police said that she took an 11-year-old boy from his home without the permission of his parents.
The affidavit states that after Fitzgerald removed the boy from his home, she drove him to Struthers' Honey, a honey farm in Lake Wales, and accused him of touching her 13-year-old daughter in a "sexual manner."
When the boy denied the accusations, Fitzgerald threatened him with a gun, according to the affidavit. Police said that they made contact with Fitzgerald after the incident was reported to police but she denied threatening the boy. She told police that she did pick the boy up from his home and told him to stay away from her daughter.
Fitzgerald also told police that she does carry a firearm in her car and allowed deputies to take possession of it, according to the affidavit.
On Thursday, police conducted a forensic interview with the boy, who said Fitzgerald "threatened to kill him if he ever communicated or touched" her daughter again, WFLA reported. According to the affidavit, Fitzgerald's claims of sexual misconduct were from an alleged incident in 2020.
The affidavit states that the boy told police that after Fitzgerald verbally threatened him, she began to drive back to the boy's home, which is when she allegedly showed the boy the gun. According to the affidavit, when Fitzgerald showed the boy the gun, she told him "you see this, I will bury you" alive.
During another interview, Fitzgerald admitted that she told the boy she would bury him but noted that she did not say she would bury him alive, the affidavit said.
The affidavit also states that Fitzgerald told police that after her daughter told her about the sexual contact allegations, "she was heartbroken." According to the affidavit, during an interview with police, Fitzgerald admitted that she confronted the boy about the allegations but "spontaneously" told police that she did not point a gun at him.
Police said in the affidavit that they charged Fitzgerald with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill and interference with child custody.
In a statement sent to WOFL TV in Orlando, Polk Sheriff Grady Judd said, "We don't expect this kind of behavior from anyone, but especially someone in public office....She should be held to a higher standard and should be setting the proper example - instead, she displayed what not to do as a human being. Her conduct, threatening a child with a gun, is horrendous."
During a press conference on Friday, Judd said, "This city commissioner was way out of line....She needs to wake up."
Newsweek was directed to the press conference on Friday after reaching out to the Polk County Sheriff's Office for comment.
Updated 06/04/2021, 1:48 p.m. ET: This story has been updated to indicate that reporting that the girl was Fitzgerald's daughter came from WFLA.
