Police in St Louis are on the hunt for a woman who was captured on video punching a sheriff's deputy and striking her in the head with...
Police in St Louis are on the hunt for a woman who was captured on video punching a sheriff's deputy and striking her in the head with her own baton after the officer asked her to put on a mask inside a gas station convenience store.
According to the St Louis Metropolitan Police Department, the incident took place just before midnight on Christmas Day at the Shell gas station at 721 North Tucker Boulevard.
The 59-year-old St Louis County sheriff's deputy told police she was working security at the gas station when a woman entered the store without a face covering.
Cellphone video shot outside a Shell gas station in St Louis, Missouri, late on Christmas Day shows a woman in a black coat beating a sheriff's deputy who was working security
Police say the attacker grabbed the deputy's baton and hit her in the head, causing a concussion
Despite her injuries, the 59-year-old officer pursued her attacker to her parked car
The deputy tried to open the front passenger door, but the occupants of the vehicle had locked the door
'The victim stated the suspect became belligerent when the victim informed the suspect that the suspect could not enter the business without a mask,' according to a statement from the police.
Surveillance video from inside the store shows the suspect putting on a mask, then seemingly exchanging some words with the deputy standing by the door.
The deputy said the irate customer pushed her on the way out of the store and then began punching her with a closed fist, including after the victim fell on the ground, as video that has been circulating on social media shows.
During the beating, the attacker grabbed the deputy's baton and struck her in the head, causing a concussion, according to the police.
Video shows the injured deputy rising to her feet and following her attacker to a red car in the parking lot.
The officer uses her baton to strike the woman inside the car, before the vehicle speeds away.
The altercation stemmed from an earlier dispute over the suspect's refusal to wear a mask inside the gas station's convenience store
The woman put on a mask after having some words with the deputy standing by the door
Paramedics responded to the scene, however, the deputy declined medical attention.
'My first response is to express concern for my deputy who suffered head injuries but is expected to recover,' St. Louis Sheriff Vernon Betts said in a statement to KSDK. She performed admirably while injured and under duress.
'Secondly, this incident points to the danger law enforcement officers face every day. This individual made a serious mistake and we are working with the St. Louis Police Department to apprehend and bring charges against this attacker. Thirdly, this pandemic is not over and you must wear a mask when in public.'
The attacker was described as a black woman, standing at 6-foot-1 to 6-foot-2 and weighing between 190lbs-200lbs, with long straight hair. She was last seen wearing a black coat, a dark shirt and black pants.
The unnamed woman is wanted on charges of robbery and assault with a special victim.
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