Police in Bakersfield arrested a man who they say hit a toddler in the face

[Jazzy]

Police in Bakersfield arrested a man who they say hit a toddler in the face. And the whole incident was caught on surveillance video.

It's video that is hard to watch. A toddler is seen running away from a man inside the Vest Market in Downtown Bakersfield. Then seconds later, he's struck in the face -- knocked to the ground. The man then picks up the child, and a woman is seen walking the little boy outside.

"I would never imagine treating a child like that," said Chris Danaher, who works at a tattoo shop near the market. "His wife or girlfriend or whatever was clearly pregnant. She had no regard to it. She picked up her son and left the store."

Justin Whittington, 23, was arrested Friday morning.

"It's terrible. That kid is obviously too young to know what was going on. Honestly, couldn't be more than 3 years old, and I just couldn't imagine anyone doing that to me or me doing that to a child whatsoever," said Danaher.

Whittington is being held at the Kern County Jail on $1 million bail.

Officials say the toddler was checked out by paramedics and is doing just fine.

The nature of Whittington's relationship to the boy is not yet known.

I'll wager that isn't the first time that little boy's been punched. There is no excuse for that, none. He's obviously afraid of that man and the woman is a classic enabler.

Your thoughts?

 

[mrldii]

Have I mentioned once or twice what I would have done to a complete stranger who dared to lay a hand on my child, when he was growing up?

What I would do to a man who had the privilege of being in my - and my son's - little world would have been even MORE horrific. And, I would have enjoyed every second of it, WHILE I dragged his imminent death ou, as long as possible; I probably would have made it some sort of scientific experiment on just how long and often I could bring him to the brink of death BEFORE he finally succumbed to it.

But, hey...that's just me.

 

[Wonko]

I did not watch the video but if I saw something like that happen in front of me then I would end up beating the crap out of the guy.

 

[Dee]

Bakersfield is a horrible place. Don't ever go there. I'm not surprised to read something like this.