Rochester woman pleads not guilty to swinging pipe at high schooler

(ABC 6 News) — UPDATE: Tiffany Natasha Kidd pleaded not guilty to charges of 2nd-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and 3rd-degree rioting in Olmsted County Court Tuesday, July 11.

Kidd, 45, was accused of swinging a lead pipe at a John Marshall High School student in May of 2022.

Kidd’s jury trial is scheduled for Dec. 26, with a pretrial hearing Dec. 19.

(ABC 6 News) – Olmsted County Court ordered Rochester Public Schools Thursday to provide footage of an incident from May 2022, where the mother of a student allegedly tried to hit another student with a lead pipe during a fight.

According to court documents, Rochester police reported to John Marshall High School at about 3 p.m. May 10, 2022, after reports that multiple groups of students had prepared to fight in the school’s gym.

According to court documents, two juvenile boys called the “two primary aggressors” were separated from the rest of the students and escorted out of the school, when they began to exchange punches.

Rochester police claim Tiffany Natasha Kidd, 44, the mother of one of the boys, arrived on the scene holding a metal pipe in her hand, which a school staffer took from her, then placed on the ground.

According to court documents, the two boys reengaged, and Kidd allegedly retrieved the pipe, then may have tried to escalate the altercation using profanities.

Two school staffers told police that as the fight continued, Kidd allegedly swung the pipe at the boy fighting her son after he son took him to the ground.

According to court documents, a security paraprofessional at the school took the pipe from Kidd before she could swing it again.

Kidd faces a count of 2nd-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and a count of 3rd-degree rioting–unlawful force or violence.

Her next court appearance is scheduled for March 2.

According to court documents, Rochester Public Schools initially refused to release surveillance footage of the incident without a court order, citing the Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act (FERPA).

Olmsted County Court filed an order Thursday ordering the school to release relevant footage.

“The Court finds that the disclosure of the surveillance video from John Marshall
will be material in determining whether the defendant in the above-entitled matter
committed the alleged act(s),” the court order read.