A security guard in Ohio reportedly punched a customer in the face after she demanded the store credit her over $1,000 worth of groceries because of “reparations.”
Law enforcement officials from the Blue Ash Police Department determined Zach Cotter acted in self-defense after punching unruly customer Karen Ivery in the face at Target store in October 2022, the New York Post reported. The incident occurred after Ivery repeatedly demanded more than $1,000 worth of groceries be gifted to her due to reparations, the outlet stated, citing a police report.
Ohio Woman demands her bill at Target is paid via ‘Reparations’ chases manager, gets punched in the face instead 😭 pic.twitter.com/w1CM3uiVCn
— Detect Fights 💕 (@detectfights) April 11, 2023
When a manager was called to mitigate the situation, Ivery reportedly got angry and “walked aggressively” towards the manager, prompting Cotter, the store’s loss prevention officer, to intervene. Cotter urged Ivery to calm down and leave the store, but she allegedly refused. Instead, Ivery followed Cotter to his office where she reportedly forced entry, prompting the security guard to punch her in the face. Cotter then called the law enforcement officials, according to the outlet.
Upon arriving at the store, police reportedly found “Ivery was confrontational with officers on the scene and didn’t want to explain her actions,” the New York Post reported, citing a police report. (RELATED: Veteran Takes Out Knife Wielding Man At Walmart)
Body cam footage shows an arriving officer asking Ivery if she is “okay.” Ivery replies, “Physically, I’m okay. Emotionally, I’m very very angry.”
Ivery went on to accuse officers of “gatekeeping” her, questioning their request for her ID and insisting that she wanted to have a “larger conversation” about money and how it works. “We all know money has not been treating everybody equally,” Ivery stated, arguing that was disadvantaged.
Her intent, she argued, was to open up a larger conversation by asking Target to compensate what she could not pay of her $1,000+ bill. “I know the heart of this place,” Ivery said of the retail store. “[Target] is the right place for me to have this conversation,” she stated in footage obtained by the Daily Caller.
While speaking to officers about her confrontations with Target employees, Ivery declared “This is my Rosa Parks moment, dude. Don’t play with me,” according to the footage.
Ivery was reportedly jailed for one day and fined $110 for disorderly conduct, the outlet reported.