Mom Puts Infant, Herself In Front Of Running Semi-Truck: Sheriff

LAKELAND, FL — A Lakeland woman is accused of sitting in front of a semi-truck holding her infant after they refused to accept her form of payment Wednesday, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said.

Angel Button, 30, and her husband tried to pay a local moving company with a certified check, which they don't accept. Following their refusal, Button sat herself and her 18-month-old underneath a running semi-truck in front of one of its wheels, according to the police affidavit. A witness told investigators that the suspect pinched her child to make her cry after they sat down.

Officers removed Button and the child away from the semi-truck, and took the girl away from her. When deputies tried to arrest Button, she got away and went back in front of the semi-truck and yelled, "I'm not going anywhere," detectives said.

Button told deputies she worked as a nurse for Lakeland Regional Health, but her husband told detectives she worked as a social worker at LRH. Officers said her social media account shows that she graduated from Metropolitan State University in Denver with a child welfare scholar graduation designation.

"Placing a child in danger is no way to end a civil disagreement," Polk Sheriff Grady Judd said. "What was she thinking putting that baby in danger like that? What this poor child experienced should make us all angry. This should have never happened."

According to the Polk County Sheriff's Office, Button was arrested on the following charges:

• Child abuse
• Resisting a law enforcement officer
• Disorderly conduct