While a CVS employee was waiting for his Lyft ride after finishing his shift, he had an unwarranted, frightening encounter with an officer of the Edgewater Police Department in Florida. As seen in the body cam footage shared on Reddit, the employee, dressed in a hoodie, was seated on a bench outside the store when the officer confronted him, asking for a means of identification.
The staff was heard explaining to the officer that he had not broken any law before attempting to meet his Lyft driver, who had just arrived. However, the officer ordered him not to leave and pointed a gun at him.
Upon seeing the gun, the young worker sat back on the bench and attempted to explain why he was outside the store. “I work here sir; I just got off work,” the man fearfully explained.
However, his explanations went to deaf ears as the officer threatened him, saying, “Dude you’re gonna get teased.” The officer barked orders at the man before putting him in cuffs.
“Stand up and turn around. Put your hands behind your back and don’t move. If you move, there’s a K9 in my car, you’re gonna get a dog bite,” the cop yelled.
With the CVS staff in handcuffs, the policeman explained that he approached him because his actions outside a closed store appeared suspicious and “strange.” Again, the employee reiterated that he was a worker at the store whose shift had only ended.
The employee in the video has been identified as 22-year-old Paul Wert, while the cop is identified as Officer Rippeon. Although no crime was committed or alleged to have been committed, the Civil Rights Lawyer reports that Wert was arrested and charged with a misdemeanor.
The unwarranted arrest has sparked an uproar from social media users who bashed the policeman for oppressing the staff.
I think the cop needs to learn something, like basic human decency. The guy got off work, he’s sitting and waiting for a ride, and then you come up, harass, and escalate him. You, POS cop, he had the right to leave. But you’re a bully, so you’re gonna show him, aren’t you? Somebody get him off this force,” one user wrote.
A second person added, “Tyranny is alive and flourishing in America.” Another internet enthusiast alluded to an alleged police hate writing, “And cops wonder why everyone hates them!”
This netizen hoped that the harassed employee would take legal action. “Hope he sues and gets enough money to quit working at CVS!”
At the time of this writing, it is unclear whether the employee has been released from custody.
