Ralphs Employee Suspended For Pepper-Spraying Customer Over Mask

Source: MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images / Getty

People refusing to wear masks for no good reason continues to cause problems across the nation. Even though Donald Trump himself finally conceded to the fact that masks are proooobably a smart idea, his supporters continue making their way into grocery stores without them.

A Ralphs grocery store in Los Angeles ended up making headlines last week following an incident on July 15 where a man decided to ram his cart into an employee after being asked to wear a mask. In response to the customer being violent, the employee pepper-sprayed him and then called police.

“I was just coming down to the end of an aisle and all of a sudden I heard some commotion and people were getting in the aisle,” a witness told CBS. “I looked down there and there was this guy just yelling at someone, and then all of a sudden you see him, you know, take the handles of his cart and just try to ram this woman.”.

“I think he was just screaming about the mask,” the witness continued. “He didn’t want to wear a mask.”

Now, a week later, the store announced its decision to suspend the employee for five days.

“The associate was suspended for five days for not following company guidelines on responding to customers not wearing a face covering and not following de-escalation procedures, which could have prevented the incident,” a company spokesman told local news.

Despite the suspension, multiple witnesses defended the employee, saying she simply acted in self-defense. Footage following the situation also shows the man on the floor covered in milk, which he presumably used to soothe his eyes after being pepper sprayed.

Ralphs is now requiring all customers wear masks in stores nationwide–though that was already a rule in California, where this took place.