Mom Arrested After Child Shows Up At School Black & Blue

(Memphis) Police say a Memphis mom went too far disciplining her child.

33-year-old Ericka Smith was arrested after her five-year-old daughter showed up at school last week with bruises and welts all over her body and a busted bottom lip.

The little girl told police her mother whipped her.

Smith admitted to hitting her daughter with a thick, black leather belt.

Neighbors say Smith is pregnant and has her hands full with a number of children, but that’s no excuse for what she is accused of doing.

“I hate to hear that happened to a little girl. I mean, if I had seen it I would have said something myself. I don’t like to see any kids get disrespected,” said Jason Brewer.

Brewer says teachers did the right thing reporting it and says he would have helped Smith if he knew she was in trouble, “Any kind of child abuse needs to be stopped quickly. There is a way to discipline a child without abusing a child.”

Because this is an ongoing investigation, police are not saying much about the case or who is caring for Smith’s children.

Smith made her first appearance in court Tuesday and is being held on $10,000 dollars bond.