A widely circulated video from August 2023 shows an apartment manager in Greensboro, North Carolina, pouring soda on an 11-year-old Black boy and striking him near an apartment complex pool. The child's parents later filed a federal lawsuit over the incident.

Robert Eury and Joella Lee-Eury filed the lawsuit on behalf of their two children against apartment manager Kimberly Jennings, Sedgefield Garden Apartments, and Benenson Real Estate Corporation.

According to the lawsuit, the 11-year-old boy and his 8-year-old sister were visiting friends at the apartment complex and using its pool when Jennings ordered them to leave. The complaint alleges that Jennings pulled the girl's hair and struck her before pouring soda on the boy and hitting him.

The parents also alleged that Jennings directed a racial slur at their son. That allegation is attributed to the lawsuit and is not established by the video alone.

Jennings was arrested and charged with two counts of simple assault on a child under 12. Being charged with a crime does not establish guilt.

The parents' federal lawsuit, filed in August 2023, included claims involving alleged discrimination, assault, battery, and emotional distress. A later court order addressed procedural issues involving service of the apartment and real estate company defendants.

Case update

Update: In February 2024, Kimberly Jennings was found guilty of two counts of simple assault on a child under 12, according to a local news report. In the separate federal civil lawsuit, the court dismissed the claims against Sedgefield Realty Company without prejudice in March 2024 because of service problems. The federal docket shows that the remaining case was terminated by a judgment and order on October 7, 2024. Publicly available docket information does not disclose the precise terms of the final disposition.

For more coverage of widely reported public incidents, read Famous Karens: Analysis of High-Profile Public Meltdowns.