Alabama, United States: An off-duty police officer body-slammed a woman at a Walmart for refusing to wear a protective mask, according to authorities.
The woman in question, who has not been named, was put under arrest on suspicion of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, among other things, Birmingham police revealed.
According to Sergeant Rod Mauldin, the scuffle occurred last Tuesday at a Birmingham area Walmart.
The woman got angry after a Walmart employee asked her to cover her face with a mask in order to protect herself and other customers before going in, Mauldin noted in a statement.
However, she ignored the request and became “disorderly,” cursing at employees as well as customers, he said.
When she refused to leave the store, the policeman, who has not been named and was working for Walmart at the time, tried to detain her, according to Mauldin.
In the footage, which was shared on social media, the officer seems to be trying to put handcuffs on the rowdy woman.
And as she tries to push away from him, he picks her up and slams her onto the ground.
See the shocking video in the link below.
So this just happened in Roebuck Walmart
Posted by RaChelle Dominique on Tuesday, May 5, 2020
According to Maulding, the officer used a “takedown measure” in order to put the woman under control because of “other threat factors in the store.”
Even though Mauldin did not go into detail regarding the threats, in the video, a second woman can be seen shouting at the officer and saying he gave the woman a concussion.
The woman was not harmed and refused medical help, Mauldin said. As per police department protocol, a use-of-force investigation was put in motion immediately, he added.
The city of Birmingham, Alabama, has two ordinances in place meant to stop the spread of coronavirus, a requirement to wear a face mask in public, and a self-isolation order.
The state of Alabama has 9,046 recorded cases of coronavirus, with 369 losses of life.
See CBS42’s report on the story in the video below.
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