LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Police say a woman who was seen repeatedly hitting a 2-year-old in the face at an Elizabethtown Kroger store claimed she did it because the child's crying "overstimulated" her.
According to court documents, officers with the Elizabethtown Police Department arrested 22-year-old Danielle Bryant just before 1 a.m. on Tuesday.
Police were called to the Kroger at 111 Towne Drive in Elizabethtown, after someone reported a child abuse incident there.
When officers arrived, they spoke with a manager who said the incident, which happened at about 8:30 p.m. Monday, had been captured on surveillance video. According to police, the video showed Bryant and a 2-year-old girl in one of the self-checkout lanes.
During the video, the 2-year-old girl falls out of the shopping cart and begins crying. Police say Bryant then slaps the child with her open hand, starts pulling her hair and swears at her.
A witness allegedly saw Bryant then walk out to a vehicle in the parking lot and put the 2-year-old in a car seat and then got into the driver's seat.
When the 2-year-old kept crying, Bryant allegedly got out of the driver's seat, opened the door next to the car seat and then slapped the girl in the face.
The witness told police that Bryant then "reared back" and hit the 2-year-old 3-5 times.
Police were able to identify the woman as Bryant and confronted her about the incident. She allegedly admitted to hitting the 2-year-old and said she did it because she was "overstimulated because of her crying." According to an arrest report, Bryant also told police that the 2-year-old bit her as she was placing her in the car seat, and as a result, she "lost it" and "blacked out" before hitting her.
Police say the left side of the 2-year-old's face was red and swollen, and a friend of Bryant's also witnessed the incident.
Bryant is charged with first-degree criminal abuse of a child. She is currently being held in the Hardin County Detention Center.
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