Mom Fights Girl, 12, on Long Island: Cops

A Long Island mom has been arrested and charged with allegedly encouraging two 12-year-old girls to duke it out during a dispute outside an elementary school -- and then participating in the fight herself.

Daphne Melin of Shirley has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child and attempted assault.

Mary Jones, 11, goes to school with the two girls.

She said she saw "hair tugging and ripping and pushing and then the mom just started beating up the girl."

Police said the fight on Sunday lasted several minutes.

Melin "spit in the girl's face and then grabbed her by the hair and kneed her in the head several times," Suffolk police said.

Melin said her daughter was the victim of cyber-bullying and that she was getting no help from the school, so she took the matter into her own hands.

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