Oakland Man Arrested For Tossing Child Into Traffic

An Oakland father was in custody Monday after he allegedly shook his young daughter and then threw the child in front of a moving car, authorities said.

At 5:39 p.m. Sunday, an off-duty police officer saw a man – later identified as John Taylor -- pick up a toddler, shake the toddler and then bring the child into the street where the toddler was run over, Oakland police Officer Jeff Thomason said.

Fortunately, the 18-month-old girl escaped with minor injuries.

“When I first heard, I was surprised, I was very angry,” said the child’s mother, Alena Bartholomew, who was out of town when the incident occurred. “Her (the baby’s) dad was taking care of her for the weekend.”

Bartholomew said she did not believe police reports that Taylor threw the baby into the path of a car.

“I never did believe it,” she said. “He would not harm his child in that way no matter if he was taking his medicine or not.”

The incident happened on Fifth Avenue just south of East 15th Street.

The officer rendered aid to the child and then chased down Taylor, who had fled on foot and started attacking motorists at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and International Boulevard.

The officer saw Taylor in a violent scuffle with several people and attempted to intervene, Thomason said. The suspect also allegedly attacked the off-duty officer.

Uniformed officers arrived and used a Taser to subdue the suspect.

Taylor was arrested and taken to a hospital for treatment of a head injury.

The suspect later admitted to his involvement in the crimes, Thomason said.