Footage shows man hogtied and tased by officers for reportedly ‘test-riding a bike he bought for his son’. DA says there’s another side to the story.

Pennsylvania, US: Footage shows a black shopper in a Walmart being held and tased by officers reportedly after he purchased a bicycle for his son.

The man, who was later identified as Stanley Gaston Gracius, can be seen in the video being brought to the ground by policemen inside the store, despite telling them he had a receipt.

“Why are you doing this to me? I paid for my stuff! I have a receipt! Please stop! I didn’t do anything wrong!” Stanley shouts.

“You didn’t have to do this!” he goes on. “Somebody please tell me why these cops are doing this to me.”

Onlookers say the man tested the bicycle by riding it inside the Walmart, but that didn’t bother anyone.

“The kind man was test riding a bike through the store while playing some music and telling random strangers he hopes they have a great day and complimenting them,” a witness said. “He was absolutely no bother to anyone.”

The cops reportedly accosted the man while he was at the register paying for his item.

“Tell me why a man who was ABOUT TO LEAVE THE STORE had to go through all of this at CHECKOUT. if he was bothering people (which he wasn’t) they should have dealt with the situation more reasonably,” the witness added. “They could have made him leave or kicked him out. there was NO NEED TO TACKLE AND TAZE THIS INNOCENT MAN. AS HE WAS LEAVING.”

today in walmart (1135 berkshire blvd in Wyomissing, PA) the police unnecessarily used excessive force by tazing a black man who did NOTHING WRONG. (1) pic.twitter.com/MJ7q3vOPu0

— layla (@labousaab44) July 21, 2020

Another video shows Stanley outside the store continuing to plead with the officers.

Eventually, an officer notifies him he is being put under arrest for disorderly conduct. After a short struggle, a cop brings out a leather belt and ties his legs before putting him in the vehicle.

FOLLOW UP: Wyomissing PA man racially profiled & arrested for riding a bike to the cash register in Walmart after paying for the bike from PublicFreakout

However, according to Berks County District Attorney John Adams, the officers “acted appropriately.”

Posting his decision on Facebook, the DA said the policemen had been called by someone claiming a person was “riding a bicycle through the store, playing loud music and yelling profanities at other shoppers.”

According to him, Stanley was asked by the manager to exit the store but he refused. When cops arrived at the scene he told them he was paying for the bicycle but had been “weaving back and forth in the aisles, hitting some shopping carts and almost hitting other shoppers.”

“She told the male to leave but he refused saying “You’re not going to tell me what to do.”

The defendant was detained by the Wyomissing Police and at all times during the encounter, the Wyomissing Police showed restraint, acted professionally, and did a good job deescalating the situation with the defendant, Stanley Gracius. Mr. Gracius did not in any manner abide by the requests of not only the store manager of Walmart, but also the requests of the officers themselves.

Based on our review of this incident, the officers of the Wyomissing Police Department acted appropriately when they arrested this individual who was causing a disturbance in the Walmart store. The defendant was charged with Aggravated Assault, Simple Assault, Disarming Law Enforcement Officer, Resisting Arrest, Defiant Trespass and Disorderly Conduct. The defendant has a prior criminal history involving a similar incident from 2014 when he pled guilty to disarming law enforcement and criminal trespass.” the DA wrote.

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