Tigger Bitch-slaps Punkass Teen

Tigger has claws:

A Walt Disney World employee dressed as the character "Tigger" was accused of hitting a child while posing for a photo, a spokeswoman for the theme park said Saturday.

Park officials temporarily suspended Michael J. Fedelem while they investigate the accusations, Disney spokeswoman Zoraya Suarez said.

"Naturally, physical altercations between cast members and guests are not tolerated," Suarez said.

Jerry Monaco of New Hampshire videotaped his son, Jerry Jr., posing with the costumed character at Disney-MGM Studios on Friday and recorded the confrontation, according to a statement from the Orange County Sheriff's Office.

The video is worth a look. A few things are notable. For one, Fedelm looks like he has had some martial arts training, or was at least a wrestler in high school or college. For two, it looks totally provoked. Fedelem's reaction is reflexive. For three, the kid does not look surprised at all by Fedelm's reaction, which kind of confirms the provocation.

The father said Fedelem intentionally hit his son "on or about the head," said sheriff's spokesman Carlos M. Padilla. "The tape only shows a fraction of what happened. Now it's up to us to find out what led up to that."

Read that to mean that the sheriff has the same take on the video. Still, it's hard to imagine what the kid could have been doing to warrant a left hook. If he was doing something inappropriate like pinching or niggling, just shoving him off should have sufficed.