July 23, 2020
Video Shows Black Man Tased By White Police Officers After He Bought a Bike at Walmart
A Black man was tased after being thrown to the ground by two white police officers at a Pennsylvania Walmart in an incident caught on video, according to The Urban Daily.
The man, Stanley G. Gracius, 37, was at Walmart to purchase a bicycle for his son. A video of the initial incident, caught by a Twitter user layla, shows the police officers attacking him at the cash register after he paid for the bike. The police officers used a taser on him as he is questioning why he was being detained.
today in walmart (1135 berkshire blvd in Wyomissing, PA) the police unnecessarily used excessive force by tazing a black man who did NOTHING WRONG. (1) pic.twitter.com/MJ7q3vOPu0
— layla (@labousaab44) July 21, 2020
the kind man was test riding a bike through the store while playing some music and telling random strangers he hopes they have a great day and complimenting them. he was absolutely no bother to anyone. at the register when the man was paying for the bike, the officer grabbed (2)
— layla (@labousaab44) July 21, 2020
his hand and twisted it as he tried to forcefully arrest him. i couldn’t tell you the reason. the man kept asking why he was being arrested and telling the officer to check the receipt to prove he paid for everything at checkout and was clearly unaware of why everything was (3)
— layla (@labousaab44) July 21, 2020
happening. then he was tazed continuously which is when the video starts. there was no use for the tazing as he was calmly trying to reason with the officers. after a few minutes he was taken outside and was forced into a cop car where he started to resist because he still (4)
— layla (@labousaab44) July 21, 2020
had no idea what was going on. he kept calmly repeating that he did not understand why he was being arrested and harassed the way he was. eventually the officers tied his feet up with a belt and were able to forcefully shove him into their vehicle. officers kept ignoring (5)
— layla (@labousaab44) July 21, 2020
bystanders when we asked why he was being arrested. finally at the end, an officer whose name tag i was unable to see, only said “disorderly conduct.” tell me why a man who was ABOUT TO LEAVE THE STORE had to go through all of this at CHECKOUT. if he was bothering people (6)
— layla (@labousaab44) July 21, 2020
(which he wasn’t) they should have dealt with the situation more reasonably. they could have made him leave or kicked him out. there was NO NEED TO TACKLE AND TAZE THIS INNOCENT MAN. AS HE WAS LEAVING. it’s not even like he was still playing music and riding the bike. (7)
— layla (@labousaab44) July 21, 2020
lastly, there were FOUR OR FIVE cop cars outside. for what? but they did this for what? the last officer to leave overheard my conversation with another bystander about how ridiculous this is and he scoffed and said, “you have no idea” and then drove away. (8)
— layla (@labousaab44) July 21, 2020
if only he knew what it’s like to be a freaking minority in this country. but alas! ACAB. (9) pic.twitter.com/HzsY2gKmmV
— layla (@labousaab44) July 21, 2020
There was another video posted on Reddit that showed what happened once the police officers took him out of the store.
FOLLOW UP: Wyomissing PA man racially profiled & arrested for riding a bike to the cash register in Walmart after paying for the bike from r/PublicFreakout
A statement was issued by the Berks County District Attorney.