Outrage Sparks as Video of Black Woman Arrested at Waffle House Goes Viral
On Sunday, April 22, three white police officers arrested 25 year-old black woman Chikesia Clemons, using great force.
Once the video of the violent arrest surfaced on social media, many people expressed their outrage over the incident and how the police handled the situation. The incident occurred when Chikesia asked for plastic utensils according to Clemons’ mother, Chiquitta Clemons-Howard.
A female employee told Clemons that plastic utensils cost 50 cents. When Clemons and her friend Canita Adams, who filmed the incident, explained that they were never charged for plastic utensils when they ordered food the night before, the employee canceled their order. When Chikesia asked for the information of the district manager, the police arrived soon after.
“They didn’t even ask her to leave, she was waiting for them to give her the district manager’s card so she could file a complaint on one of the waitresses,” Clemons-Howard told AL.com on behalf of her daughter. “When they went to go get the card, that’s when the police showed up. The officer should’ve come in and said we need you to leave.”
The arrest occurred during a national time of awareness of the way people of color are treated by police in public places. This comes right after the incident at a Starbucks in Philadelphia, where two black men were arrested for sitting and waiting for someone and claimed to have trespassed.
Many people on Twitter expressed their outrage about the mistreatment of people of color by police officers.
Chikesia Clemons was violently assaulted by cops after Waffle House employees called them on her. They tackled her, exposed her breasts and traumatized her while people sat and watched.
— Lara Witt (@Femmefeministe) April 24, 2018
Chikesia Clemons will never see the support the two men in Starbucks have seen for many reasons. The first being that she is a Black Woman.
— LeslieMac (@LeslieMac) April 23, 2018
I actually can’t personally repost the video of #ChikesiaClemons because I’m so triggered. @WaffleHouse employees called the police on her in Alabama. I watched the video. She was peaceful, then wrestled to the ground by THREE officers, choked, half-disrobed and arrested.
— Brittany Packnett (@MsPackyetti) April 22, 2018
Tackled, harmed and exposed all because of the color of her skin! #ChikesiaClemons deserves fair treatment just as well as anyone else and should be able to dine without being racially profiled. When will it stop?
— NAACP (@NAACP) April 23, 2018
Choked, exposed, assaulted and threatened with further bodily harm. What happened to Chikesia Clemons in that Alabama Waffle House was 100 levels beyond barbaric—and you shouldn’t need to have a sister, wife, etc. to understand why either.
— Justin Tinsley (@JustinTinsley) April 24, 2018
#BoycottWaffleHouse…if we are to EVER adequately address police brutality and profiling, we can’t spend our dollars where OUR BODIES are not respected. THIS APPLIES TO EVERY ENTITY THAT WON’T STAND WITH US IN THE FACE OF INJUSTICE!https://t.co/5ltEOG2amZ
— Cousin Angela (@angela_rye) April 24, 2018
The video posted below shows three Saraland police officers standing over Clemons while grabbing and pulling her arms. Soon after, they pull Clemons off the chair and onto the floor of the restaurant. During the altercation, Clemons’ clothes were pulled down, exposing her breasts while the police attempt to flip her over to arrest her while customers continue to eat as seen in the background.
Mobile NAACP President David Smith made a statement on Sunday concerning the incident.
“In light of the current situation in our country–such as the arrest of two young black men at a Philadelphia Starbucks coffee shop–we felt it was important for our members to get a first-hand account of the incident, which has now gone viral on social media locally and across the country,” Smith said.
