Video taken outside a Fresno, California restaurant called Waffle Shop on Sunday shows a confrontation between police and patrons who were showing support for the business.
Opening in defiance of the state’s “stay-at-home” order for Mother’s Day, Waffle Shop did restrict the number of guests allowed inside the building at one time and had customers lined up outside to wait for seats.
Despite attempting to please the state, a pair of “city officials” wearing masks and carrying clipboards approached the front door and were told to wait in line like everybody else.
The city workers were likely there to cite the restaurant for “violating lockdown orders” and customers told them to leave, adding, “We pay your paychecks. Remember that!”
A Fresno police officer arrived and tried to lead the city officials, called Code Enforcememnt by a patron, into the establishment.
Telling the crowd to “make way,” the officer approached the group gathered in front and was told, “They don’t have to let you in. Do you have a warrant?”
The officer then directed his attention to the woman behind the camera, threating to arrest her for “interfering,” before once again trying to enter the building.
Seconds later the cop used his shoulder to ram into a woman standing near the entrance, causing the crowd to erupt in anger.
Next, the officer grabbed a man’s wrist after he expressed outrage at the assault he just witnessed and the cop pointed his tazer at the individual before handcuffing him.
Ironically, the man who was arrested was wearing hospital scrubs.
The man’s wife can be heard telling the officer, “He served four tours in Vietnam,” as he was placed into a police cruiser.
The Fresno Police Department posted footage of the officer’s bodycam to their YouTube account and it seems to verify that the officer used his shoulder to intentionally bump into the woman.
Fresno Police Chief Andy Hall told the New York Daily News the officer “was acting lawfully while assisting code enforcement” after reviewing the video.
“The individual in this case did obstruct the officer in his duties. The officer’s detention of this individual allowed for code enforcement (officials) to complete their duties. As a result, the individual was only detained and was released without any further charges being filed,” he continued.
“I am asking the public to always respect the authority of a police officer,” Hall requested. “The men and women of the Fresno Police Department risk their lives every day for this community and will continue to do so during and after this crisis.”
The Fresno Bee reports Waffle Shop owner Ammar Ibrahim was fined $5,000 for opening his restaurant on Sunday.
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