Child films cops escorting angry man from Walmart in NC for refusing to wear a mask

Police escorted a visibly angry man from the Walmart store in Mooresville after he refused a store manager’s request to wear a mask, according to a child’s video of the encounter that has drawn nearly a million Twitter views in less than a day.

“Because I’m white, she asked me to leave the property,” the man tells two police officers of the Black store manager. “It is because I’m white. What else is it?”

“Knock it off, or you’re going to jail,” a Mooresville police officer tells the man, pointing a finger at him, according to the video posted on the Fifty Shades of Whey Twitter account. The video originally appeared on the Facebook account of a Mooresville woman, according to a reply to The Charlotte Observer by Fifty Shades of Whey.

“I am very proud of my boys,” the woman later told the Observer via Facebook, referring to her 8-year-old son – who she said filmed the encounter – and her 14-year-old. Out of safety concerns, she said, she asked that their names not be published.

Just before police arrive, the man appears to be arguing with the boys’ mother, who apparently chided him for not wearing a mask. The boy filming the encounter tells the man, “Don’t be a jerk.”

In the video, the angry man shouts back at one of the two officers on scene: “Don’t tell me to knock it off. In my county, my sheriff says that’s an unlawful mandate,” referring to requirements to wear a mask.

An officer tells the man he doesn’t work for Iredell County Sheriff Darren Campbell and that “this is their property,” referring to Walmart.

“It is because I’m white,” the man repeats, his voice growing louder. “It’s racist.”

Addressing the Walmart manager near the man, an officer says: “I need you to ask him in our presence to leave the store.”

“Please leave the store,” the manager tells the man, her back to the phone of the child recording the incident.

“Don’t worry, I’ve been filming him the entire time,” a boy is then heard saying on the video.

The incident occurred on Dec. 31 at the store off Interstate 77 Exit 36, the woman told the Observer.

In the video, she can be heard telling the man: “I just don’t appreciate that example in front of my children.”

Walmart’s mask policy “is intended to keep our customers and associates safe as we continue to serve communities across the country,” Casey Staheli, Walmart senior manager for national media relations, told the Observer in a statement on Tuesday. “We are pleased that the vast majority of the 150 million customers who visit us each week are wearing masks since we started requiring them this summer.

“We’re proud our associates displayed patience and professionalism as they navigated this challenging situation,” according to the statement.

Fifty Shades of Whey is the Twitter handle of a man who describes himself as an activist and freelance reporter from New York. With the video, the man posted this message:

“@Walmart gives this manager a raise for having to deal with this nonsense. She risked her life to protect customers and get this criminal out of the store. The stress & trauma of this ordeal deserves paid vacation days too.”

Sheriffs and NC’s mask order

Campbell, the Iredell County sheriff, told the Observer the statement by the man in the video is false.

“I never went and said don’t wear a mask.” Campbell said. “I have said law enforcement cannot enforce the order, per the governor’s order back in June. But I’ve been on the radio and everywhere else to say you need to protect yourself. Absolutely (wear a mask). I wear a mask.”

In June, at least 15 North Carolina sheriff’s offices, including Campbell’s, said they wouldn’t enforce a then-new executive order issued by Gov. Roy Cooper that requires people to wear face coverings in public areas, the Observer reported at the time.

Sheriff’s offices across the state said language of the new executive order prevents them from charging those who refuse to wear a mask in public.

Campbell posted a statement on the county sheriff’s Facebook page expressing similar sentiments at the time.

“I firmly believe that the order mandating face coverings is not only unconstitutional but unenforceable,” Campbell wrote. “We have no intention of enforcing this order nor can we enforce this order.”

Lowe’s cites safety concerns

For months, many local and national retailers have posted signs at their entrances mandating customers to wear masks. Retailers, including Walmart, give masks to customers who show up without one.

Some retailers, including Mooresville-based Lowe’s, have cited safety concerns in not enforcing their mask mandates.

A Lowe’s shopper in California said another customer repeatedly spat in his face when he told the man to wear a mask, according to a lawsuit filed in July against the company that claims Lowe’s workers refused to intervene.

In a video posted Sunday on Twitter, a passenger upset that she was ordered to wear a mask began yelling on an American Airlines flight from Charlotte to Washington, D.C., McClatchy News reported.

“If we don’t stand up, it’s only going to get worse,” the passenger shouted, according to Twitter user Emir Sfaxi, who posted the video.