A Black man from Pennsylvania was tasered and arrested by police after he bought a bike in a local Walmart. A camera phone footage showed him being dragged by the authorities and he can be heard screaming that he has a receipt.
Racist motive
The victim, Stanley Gracius, was confronted by two police officers after they received reports that Gracius was riding a bicycle through the store, yelling profanities at other shoppers, and playing loud music.
Just as the 37-year-old victim was paying for the bike, the police arrived and grabbed his hand and twisted it as they forced him in handcuffs. Gracius repeatedly asked why he was being arrested but the police did not respond.
The video, now-viral online and filmed by Twitter user @labousaab44, the victim can be heard pleading to the police officers while struggling because of his twisted arm. He said he did not do anything and asked the officers why they were arresting him when he paid for the bike. He said he had a receipt.
Also Read : Two Italian Teens Pay Bitcoins to Watch Livestream of Children Being Tortured and Murdered
Gracius was test riding the bike through the store before he bought it, according to the Twitter user. The user also said that he was not yelling profanities, he was telling random strangers that he hopes they have a great day and he was complimenting them, he was also playing some music while biking around.
The victim was tasered repeatedly even though he was not resisting arrest, he was only asking why he was arrested. The Twitter user added that the police did not have to use force on him because he was calm the entire time.
After a few minutes, the police officers still refused to say why he was arrested. They took him outside and he was forced into a cop car where he started to resist because he still had no clue on what was going on. Gracius tried to take the taser away from the police officers.
Different statement
In a Facebook post, the Berks County District Attorney's Office had defended the actions of the police officers. The office stated that the officers acted professionally, showed restraint, and did a good job in deescalating the situation with Gracius.
According to the police officers, Gracius was asked by a male shop assistant to leave the store after he was weaving back and forth in the aisles. Gracius allegedly hit shopping carts and almost hit other shoppers, he also reportedly said that they can't "tell him what to do."
The post from the office added that Gracius did not abide by the requests of the store manager of Walmart and the requests of the police officers.
The office reviewed the incident and the police officers from the Wyomissing Police Department acted appropriately when they arrested Gracius who was causing a disturbance at the store.
Gracius is now facing multiple charges for simple assault, aggravated assault, resisting arrest, disarming law enforcement officers, disorderly conduct, and defiant trespass.
The public outcry about what happened to Gracius has resulted in the creation of a GoFundMe page to help him with his legal fees, the page has raised more than $2,000.
