Black Verizon worker attacked by shopper in racist tirade over mask in viral video
Verizon plans to ban the woman from stores after lodging a racial slur at and attacking a Black employee in New York City
Video footage has surfaced of a woman in New York City having an angry tirade in a Verizon store, which ended with her using a racial slur against one of the employees.
The New York Daily News reports that she had been instructed to wear a mask in the store. which she refused to do.
According to police, the incident occurred in a Verizon store in Manhattan’s Upper West Side around 5 p.m. on Saturday when employees noticed the woman wasn’t wearing her mask. She refused each time she was told to put one on.
READ MORE: Reporter refuses Trump’s request to remove mask at news conference
The video shows a female employee who noticed the woman using and attempting to take one of the store’s phone chargers. When confronted, the woman began to yell and use profanity.
“Get your f***ing s**t away from me, b***h. Do not grab my f***ing hand,” the woman cried out.
The female employee never grabbed the woman, as evident in the video. After the woman was instructed to leave the store, the woman grabbed a small waste basket at the display table and launched it at the employee’s face.
“You can go f**k yourself, you stupid ugly ho,” she said in response to being told to leave the premise.
It was at that time when more employees gathered in the video and escorted the woman out of the store.
Right as the video was ending, the woman hurled a racial slur at the female employee as she was led to the front door, yelling: “You’re not only f***ing breaking contract, you’re enforcing illegal laws and you don’t f***ing tell me what to do and you don’t grab my f***ing hand, you f***ing fat ugly n****r!”
The video was posted to TikTok by @balleralert and went viral on other social media outlets.
READ MORE: California man goes on homophobic rant, unzips pants over mask wearing
Verizon spokesman David Weissmann made a statement regarding the unruly patron, stating the company’s intention to “ban her for life” from all Verizon stores and asked the public to identify her in order to do so. The plan is to “terminate her ability to do business” with Verizon, he said.
“The health and safety of our employees and customers is our number 1 priority,” Weissmann said. “We will not tolerate behavior like this.”
Police stated that the female employee who was hit with the trash bin was sent to NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital and received treatment for minor injuries.
This is the latest of several stories of people going on tirades while being vacated from an establishment for not wearing a mask amid a deadly coronavirus pandemic.
According to a previous report by theGrio, a Brooklyn couple was asked to leave a New York City ferry earlier this month for refusing to wear masks and blamed Black Lives Matter, saying “If we were f**king Black, I can guarantee you that guy would never come out and tell us to put a mask on.”
Last month, a man went on a homophobic rant in a California Marshall’s Department store when he was confronted about not wearing his mask by employees.
TheGrio reported the man also used racially insensitive language and threatened to expose himself.
Have you subscribed to theGrio’s podcast “Dear Culture”? Download our newest episodes now!
You Might Like
