A downtown merchant confronted a woman he said he was stealing from his store. She responded by attacking him — then attacking the cops who came to his aid.
That’s according to Sgt. Anthony Zona, who was at the scene.
The incident occurred at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.
A crowd gathered on Orange Street watched what happened. Maxwell Reichert of Reichart Photography was among them. He caught the action in a combination of still photos and videos. Click on the play arrow at the top of this story to watch.
The incident began inside the Sassy store on Chapel by Orange. The merchant there followed a woman outside the store after, he claimed, she stole a wig. (He later spoke with the Register’s William Kaempffer, who wrote this story.) A fight ensued on the sidewalk outside the federal building.
Marshals from the federal building rushed out to help. Cops arrived too and began to handcuff her. Zona said the woman bit two of those city cops, Scott Durkin and Curtis Miller.
Reichart’s video shows the woman continuing to swear at the cops and trying to fight back. “Stop kicking me,” Officer Robert DuPont is seen telling her in the video.
Reichart said guards from the federal building ordered him to walk away and stop filming. Asked about that later, when they were back inside the federal building, the guards declined to answer questions. Glaring, they ordered a reporter to leave the building’s lobby.
I'm glad my mother raised me right.