While Nashville police look for the White man who killed four Black patrons at a Waffle House before 29-year-old James Shaw Jr. wrestled away his gun, another location of the chain restaurant had its own incident yesterday (April 22).
Canita Adams posted video of three White police officers violently arresting her friend Chikesia Clemons after an employee of the Waffle House in Saraland, Alabama, called 911. While Clemons explains that the employee made the call because she asked for the phone number to corporate headquarters so she could lodge a complaint, an officer grabs her neck and wrists.
The next scene shows her on the floor, as two officers grab at her body and her clothing, exposing her breasts, threatening to break her arm and choking her. Meanwhile, Clemons repeatedly asks why she is being cuffed. Clemon’s mother told AL.com that her daughter was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. She paid the $1,000 bond and her 25-year-old daughter was released.
In a post that she says was removed by Facebook, Adams wrote that the incident began when the employee tried to charge her $0.50 for plastic silverware, and Clemons said that she was not charged on previous visits.
The Saraland Police Department Public posted a statement about the arrest on Facebook:
In a statement provided to AL.com, Waffle House spokesperson Pat Warner expressed skepticism about the reported chain of events, and support for the arresting officers.
“[I]t’s fair to say that the information we have received at this point differs significantly from what has reportedly been attributed to Ms. Clemons and strongly supports the actions taken by the Saraland Police Department. The Saraland Police Department is conducting its own investigation and we encourage you to contact them for additional information.”
Several people reportedly gathered outside the restaurant in protest yesterday afternoon. The attack on the young Black woman comes just days after a Starbucks employee called the police on two Black men two minutes after they entered a Philadelphia location on April 12. The company is slated to shut down thousands of locations for implicit bias training.