I’m suing over my Walmart arrest – I was ‘visibly pregnant’ but still swung to the ground in front of my children
TWO sisters have sued police after a raucous video of them being arrested in Walmart went viral.
One of the women was visibly pregnant and at high risk when she was swung to the ground by an officer, the suit claims.
The plaintiffs are requesting $9million in restitution each for the alleged physical abuse.
They say they were subjected to excessive force, false arrest, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and more in the lawsuit obtained by CNY.
Tanjenik Byrd and Tyreana Edmonds were taken into custody at the Walmartin East Syracuse, New York in July 2021.
They were with their children and a nephew at the time, Syracuse.comreported.
Officers Corey Buyuck and Rory Spain of the DeWitt Police Department were called to handle an altercation between about five people.
Workers were reportedly threatened and struck during the incident and a customer had been pepper sprayed.
Surveillance footage appears to show Byrd using mace on another woman in the store during an altercation that lasted around 30 seconds, police said.
The lawsuit simply describes the event as a brief encounter.
The plaintiffs say they were leaving the store when they were confronted by police.
In the body camera footage, Spain can be seen apparently approaching Edmonds and immediately trying to place her in handcuffs as she argued with another customer.
The lawsuit claims that the officer didn’t ask any questions before attempting to detain her.
Byrd then appears to approach Spain and tries to pull her sister away.
That’s when she was confronted by Buyuck.
The footage appears to him swinging the woman to the ground and straddling her while putting on handcuffs.
Byrd said she experienced internal bleeding after Buyuck dug his elbow into her stomach.
A crowd gathered around the officers as they were arresting the sisters, which prompted Spain to pull out his taser as a warning.
Edmonds can then be seen allegedly kicking over a display of plastic storage bins.
A bystander grabbed a crying child seen standing near the altercation.
After that, Spain appeared to pick Edmonds up by the leg and her handcuffs.
The video then appears to show her trying to bite the officer, who punched Edmonds in response.
The sisters also state that they were “partially disrobed” during the altercation and “paraded through the store” while exposed, which can be seen in the video.
Edmonds was charged with six offenses including second-degree attempted assault of an officer, resisting arrest, and fourth-degree criminal mischief.
Byrd was also charged with six offenses including third-degree assault, fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, and endangering the welfare of a child.
All of these charges were later dropped, a representative for the Village of East Syracuse told The U.S. Sun.
The DeWitt Police Department defended both officers after the incident.
“It is reasonable for an officer to defend himself from being bitten,” Chief Chase Bilodeau told Syracuse.com.
But Spain was reportedly put on paid administrative leave and underwent retraining after the incident, Syracuse.com reported
“It is reasonable for an officer to defend himself from being bitten,” Chief Chase Bilodeau told Syracuse.com.
But Spain was reportedly put on paid administrative leave and underwent retraining after the incident, Syracuse.com reported
