- Elderly Black woman thrown to ground by police during Walmart incident, leaving her physically and emotionally shaken
- Daughter handcuffed, mother denied medication after incident, family seeking legal counsel against Walmart and police
- Internal investigation underway, officials claim they’re determining if laws or policies were violated
A Georgia family is looking for lawyers after what should have been a routine Walmart shopping trip allegedly turned into a 71-year-old Black woman being thrown to the ground by police, injured and traumatized. Because apparently “customer service” at this particular Walmart comes with handcuffs and takedown tactics.
According to WALB, Patricia Tarver and her daughter, Amita Spear, were cited for disorderly conduct following an Aug. 18 confrontation at the Walmart on East Alice Street in Bainbridge. The situation reportedly started after another woman threatened Tarver while she was shopping. Spear came to the store after being alerted to the situation and says she found the woman holding a Taser, which led to another argument.
From there, things allegedly escalated very quickly.
Spear says officers handcuffed her, while her 71-year-old mother was allegedly thrown onto the floor. Tarver claims an officer twisted her around, picked her up, and slammed her down on the ground before sitting on her and pressing his knees into her back. These pork-based police treated a septuagenarian woman like somebody who just won the WWE heavyweight championship belt.
Tarver says the encounter left her physically and emotionally shaken. After being taken to the police department, she reportedly suffered a panic attack and says she was denied her medication. Her daughter eventually took her to the emergency room, where doctors reportedly documented injuries to her shoulder and described what they saw on video as physical abuse of an elderly person. Tarver has since been prescribed antidepressants and referred for counseling.
“Now I can’t go back in there no more because I have flashbacks,” Tarver said.
Meanwhile, Bainbridge Public Safety Chief Redell Walton says an internal investigation is underway. The chief reportedly has seen a short portion of the encounter but has not yet reviewed the full body-camera footage. Officials say they are investigating whether any laws or department policies were violated. Walmart, for its part, offered a predictably corporate response, saying customer and associate safety is a priority while directing further questions to law enforcement.
“We just want to make sure that no laws were broken, no policy was violated,” Walton said. “That’s what we’re trying to do right now.”
The family is now seeking legal counsel against both Bainbridge Public Safety and Walmart. And if the full footage backs up the family’s allegations, this could become a whole lot more than another disorderly conduct citation.
