JACKSONVILLE, FL - June 23, 2020 - According to a news report published on Jacksonville.com, a man from Jacksonville, Florida, was told by Walmart employees to leave the Walmart at River City Marketplace store this past Sunday. The Jacksonville man alleges that a Jacksonville police officer violently shoved him to the Walmart store floor, assaulted him to the point of requiring emergency medical attention, and the entire event was captured on multiple cellphone cameras shot by numerous eyewitnesses. The video recordings concluded with the man being lifted up by police and his face covered with the man's own blood. The incident has the man's family asking why was their loved one violently attacked and shoved to the store's floor by a Jacksonville police officer. The man was unable to provide a comment about the arrest because he stated that he could not speak any English.
The 43-year-old man sustained two black eyes and a broken nose during the arrest, which took place at approximately 10:40 p.m. The brutal arrest was captured on at least three separate cellphones, and one of the videos has been posted online by the man's nephew. The video posted by the man's nephew states that a police officer broke his uncle's nose when the police officer punched his uncle in the face. The boy asked Facebook users to share the video and make the video viral. The boy also stated that "This behavior from law enforcement needs to stop now!"
According to the arrest report, the defendant was shopping with his wife and family members Sunday night. The store was about to close, and the store made several announcements that the store would be closing and for customers to finish their shopping and to check out. The report states that Walmart employees asked the defendant to finish shopping and observed the defendant ignoring their request to check out. The Walmart employees then told the man and his family to leave the store. Another Walmart customer, who witnessed the incident, stated: "Walmart employees overreacted and called for the police."
The news report states that the defendant's arrest report has a lot of the narrative redacted (blacked out). The arrest report indicates the police officer called on his radio for backup because he was "fighting with a suspect" inside the Walmart store. This may contradict the events that were captured on video cameras. Also, the arrest report states, "After the suspect fell on the ground," which seems to contradict the video and witnesses that state the police officer forcefully shoved the defendant to the ground. The defendant´s wife refused to speak with another officer who was writing up a report.
The Jacksonville Fire and Rescue paramedics examined and treated the defendant's injuries and then released the man to law enforcement who arrested him and booked him into the Duval County jail. The man was freed the following morning on a $7,500 bail.