Target security guard punches woman who demanded her $1K grocery bill be paid by store in 'reparations'
HAMILTON COUNTY, OHIO: A shocking video showed the moment a Target security guard knocked out a woman after the latter demanded that her grocery bill of over $1,000 be paid by the store in "reparations." The incident occurred at a Target in Blue Ash, Hamilton County, Ohio, in October 2022. Security guard Zach Cotter, 28, claimed he hit Karen Ivery, 37, in "self-defense" after she grew "aggressive."
CCTV footage showed Cotter intervening after Ivery had an altercation with a manager. He claimed he hit her after she "charged" at him. Police arrested the 37-year-old for menacing and disorderly conduct before she told them this was her "Rosa Parks moment."
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Why did the guard punch Karen Ivery?
The store manager reportedly claimed that a cashier called her over after Ivery asked that her hefty grocery bill be covered by reparations. She claimed that the 37-year-old said that she had a "privileged life" and that she was "owed this." The manager told her to call in the morning if she wanted a donation, but this made Ivery verbally aggressive. Another video from the store showed Ivery marching towards the manager, which caused her to back into a nearby counter, and that was when Cotter ran across the store to intervene.
While Cotter tried to bring things under control, Ivery was seen backing him into a security office while he tried to mollify her. Suddenly, Cotter punched her in the face, causing her to fall onto the floor as her belongings fell out, before he called the police.
Bodycam footage showed Cotter saying, "I told her she needed to back up or leave. She started charging at me. I came all the way back into my office, into an enclosed space, and I hit her in the face. I have it all on video," reported Daily Mail.
'This is my Rosa Parks moment!'
An officer checks on Ivery, asking her if she was OK, to which she responded, "Physically I am OK. Emotionally I am very, very angry." After being asked to stop talking, she allegedly said, "Do you know who I am? Clearly, you don't know who I am."
Ivery then explained the incident to the officer, saying, "I was asking the cashier to reach out to her manager so we could have a larger conversation about how money works, and how provision works, and how it's been working in our community in a very wrong way., adding, "This is my Rosa Parks moment."
"After watching the video footage we determined that Ivery was the aggressor," a police report stated. Ivery was sentenced to a day in confinement and fined $110 for disorderly conduct.