A woman at a New York Walmart store is going viral after slapping a state trooper who proceeded to pin her to the ground while she cried “Walmart is racist,” a video circulating social media shows.
In the video, the woman is seen arguing with the state trooper at a Westchester County, N.Y. Walmart and encouraging him to “drag” her out of the store. She then begins throwing merchandise at the trooper, who subsequently tries to restrain her.
When the officer tries restraining her, the woman turns around and begins hitting the officer, going as far as to slap him in the face and knock his glasses off of his head.
The trooper begins to wrestle the woman to the ground, at which point she starts screaming “Walmart is racist” repeatedly.
New York State Police told The National Desk (TND) the incident occurred on October 2 shortly after 6:30 p.m. in response to a 911 call by the Walmart store. Despite claims on social media, police say the incident did not involve shoplifting and the woman in question was experiencing “a mental health issue.”
Police told TND the woman was taken to a local hospital after the scuffle, but cited the fact that federal law limits how much police can disclose when referencing a mental health issue.
Walmart did not provide comment on the incident, instead referring TND to authorities.
The dust-up in New York is the latest in a series of altercations at retail stores that have gone viral on social media. Earlier this year, a video of California 7-Eleven workers defending their store from a robber gained widespread attention on social media. The local district attorney later announced the employees seen defending their merchandise would not be charged.
In 2019, two men were caught on camera stealing 56 video games from a Walmart outside of Houston, Texas. The games were worth roughly $2,300 combined.
