A Walmart customer in Kansas City, Kansas claimed he was pinned to the ground by police after one of them wanted to see his receipt for a $5 frozen pizza. According to Insider, 24-year-old Dayton Borisouth was leaving a Walmart in early June after buying pizza for his family when he was stopped by a police officer.
“As I took one, maybe two, steps past him, he said, ‘Got your receipt?’ and I said ‘yes’ and kept walking,” Borisouth said. “As I walked toward the sliding glass door, I saw in the reflection that he was coming at me.”
According to Borisouth, the police officer held him against the wall and demanded payment for the item. “I responded,” Of course I did, and the proof is in the left pocket of my pants. But it’s not legal for you to hold me here. Remembering what Borisouth had said.
“Borisouth claimed that the officer attempted to handcuff him, wrestled him to the ground, and then asked for assistance. Borisouth claimed he struggled against the restraints. And then the other officers came rushing in, and I thought maybe they could help me,” Borisouth added.
“Then they jump on my back, and one of the officers puts his knee on my neck.” He said that an officer had threatened to crack his nose. “I started to get scared so I immediately stopped resisting,” he said. Police arrested him on charges of obstructing justice and placed him in a police car for approximately an hour.
The accusation was dropped after some time. The incident was first reported on by Fox 4 in Kansas City. The Kansas City, Kansas Police Department said in a statement obtained by Insider that an investigation was conducted and that two officers were disciplined as a result.
Video Shows Officers Kneeling on the Walmart Shopper:
The police department claimed that Borisouth became “belligerent” when he was asked for his receipt. “When requested to present his receipt, the individual refused, became belligerent, and continued out the door despite the officer’s verbal commands,” the department said.
“It is our determination that the officer should have disengaged at that time due to the circumstances.” One of the responding officers used tactics that were neither sanctioned nor trained for by the department, according to the report.
“Due to these findings, both officers have been disciplined consistent with policy and will undergo additional training to ensure future compliance,” the police department said. Chris Enloe, Borisouth’s uncle, filmed a portion of the incident and gave a copy to Insider.
The below tweet verifies the news:
A Walmart shopper said a police officer kneeled on his neck during a receipt check over a frozen pizza https://t.co/NlSyEJxXZi
— Insider Business (@BusinessInsider) June 14, 2023
A cop can be seen on the floor with Borisouth in the footage, which was also shared on TikTok. The audio plays as Borisouth yells at the police officer and hands over his receipt. Something that looks like crumpled paper is in his hands.
After what looks like some resistance from Borisouth, two officers kneel on top of him to detain him. A Walmart representative said the firm does not comment on internal policies, thus they would not disclose their stance on receipt audits.
Here are some links to more items from the California Examiner that you might be interested in reading:
- Princeton 14-year-old Girl Missing, AMBER Alert Issued
- New York Lady Killed in Hit-and-run by Intoxicated Driver She Refused to Ride With Earlier
Do you have to show your receipt at Walmart?
Consumers are not obligated by law to produce receipts while making purchases. But as my colleague Gloria Dawson has written, if you refuse to present your receipt, the retailer has reasonable grounds to keep you.
A Walmart customer in the Denver region filed a lawsuit against the company after he was detained on many occasions for refusing to produce receipts for his purchases. A recent court ruling exonerated Walmart from responsibility for a customer’s wrongful incarceration.
The California Examiner is a must-read for everyone interested in state and local governance in the Golden State.