By Joshua Huff, sports editor
ROEBUCK — The Birmingham Police Department is investigating a video released on social media on Tuesday night that shows a police officer forcefully subduing a woman in a Roebuck Walmart.
According to media reports, the incident is alleged to have begun after the woman’s failure to comply with a local ordinance that calls for citizens within Birmingham city limits to wear a face covering while out in public. However, few official details other than what is depicted in the videos, along with witnesses claims, have been released.
A witness told WBRC that the incident began when the officer asked the woman to put on a face mask, who then refused and escalated the situation.
So this just happened in Roebuck Walmart
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The brief video, which has been shared nearly 13,000 times, shows a Birmingham police officer attempting to place handcuffs on a woman at the entrance of the Walmart. The woman, who appears to be resisting, is then taken to the ground by the police officer. Nearby, a woman is seen screaming and threatening the officer along with customers standing around the scene.
Further videos show the officer confronted by two other maskless women before they are all escorted out.
In a statement to AL.com, Birmingham police spokesman Sgt. Rod Mauldin said that the officer was off-duty at the time and working security at the Walmart.
“”We understand we are operating in trying times,” Mauldin told AL.com. “The Birmingham Police Department has maintained a consistent community oriented educational approach to the surrounding circumstances of Covid-19. As a department, we have been successful in our efforts to gain compliance and cooperation from the vast majority of citizens in Birmingham. Our records indicate, we have not issued any citations or made arrests as it relates to the shelter in place ordinance or the face covering ordinance. We have made a valiant effort to gain voluntary compliance and we will continue to work cohesively with the community.”
The incident follows Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall recently sending a letter to the Birmingham City Council and Mayor Randall Woodfin imploring the city to reconsider the city’s intention to enforce a citywide face-covering ordinance out of concern for enforcement issues.
“My objective in writing you, therefore, is two-fold: 1) to ask that you reconsider enforcement of this ordinance and ensure that law enforcement has clear guidance from you in this regard; and 2) to raise your awareness of the high volume of constitutional questions and concerns that my Office has received in the last day and a half, in order to give you the best opportunity to protect your City against unnecessary litigation,” Marshall wrote.
Woodfin responded that Birmingham’s law enforcement officers have clear guidance on how to implement the order.