Mom Who Dispensed Tough Love During Riot Hits Morning TV

See video at the bottom of the article.

Toya Graham said she doesn’t feel like a hero.

She simply wanted her teenage son to be safe, and to get out of a Baltimore neighborhood where looters were throwing rock and bricks.

Baltimore Police asked parents to find their children Monday and bring them home after chaotic activity erupted from a mob that included many juveniles near Mondawmin Mall.

Video of Graham literally pulling her child from the fray on this video went viral. She scolded him for being part of this “dumb [expletive],” demanding that he “get over here” and take his mask off.

Graham visited “CBS This Morning” in New York on Wednesday to discuss her dose of tough love.

“At this point I just lost it,” Graham said of the moment she and her son – wearing a hoodie and face mask – locked eyes. She then raced toward the teen, grabbed at his face mask and began slapping him on the head.

Her son’s response to her slaps on his head was “Mom, mom, mom, OK mom.” She told him “how dare you do this?”

Some commenters on social media have disputed the “Mother of the Year” given to Graham on Twitter. They say her blows to the 16-year-old boy were too much.

Brandon Hartzell, 27, a golfer, questioned on Twitter praising Graham for hitting her son while football player Adrian Peterson faced criminal abuse charges for disciplining his son with a switch, reports USA Today.

“We accused one person and praised another for the same action,” Hartzell said. “It’s so hypocritical.”

Graham said she would have allowed her son to go to the viewing of Gray’s body, or miss school to attend the funeral. Taking to the streets as he did was not OK with her.

“For him to do what he was doing, it was just unacceptable,” she said.

While her son has been in trouble with the police in the past, Graham said he knows right from wrong.

“You will not be throwing rocks and stones at police officers. Who’s to say at some point they might not have to come and protect me. And they might not want to knowing you’re bringing harm to them.”

SEE ALSO:

• Why Baltimore Burned
• Obama on Baltimore Riots: ‘We Can’t Just Leave This to the Police’
• Scenes from Day After Baltimore Riots