A Black police officer is facing racism and verbal abuse after he tased and arrested an Ohio woman for refusing to leave a school football game because she wasn’t wearing a mask as required by the school district. The incident was caught on video and soon vaulted into mainstream news. Logan Police officer Chris Smith has received various death threats and racial insults since the arrest of Alecia Kitts.
According to a captain with the Logan Police Department, the department’s office is receiving more than 300 calls an hour concerning the arrest. Smith has currently been reassigned from the Logan Hocking School District.
A Logan Police Department press release pointed out that Kitts wasn’t arrested for not wearing a mask; she was detained for not leaving school property after repeatedly being asked to leave for violating school policy. When she refused, she was informed that she was under arrest for criminal trespassing, and she resisted the arrest, which led to the use of force.
CBS News reports that on Sept. 23, Smith was at a football game at Logan High School stadium during football games for seventh and eighth grades, where one of his responsibilities was to make sure fans were complying with health and safety guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Ohio Health Department. That includes guidelines by the Logan Hocking School District for mandatory wearing of a mask on school property.
The police department’s press release stated that Smith informed Kitts she needed to put on a mask, and she refused to comply, claiming to have asthma. After telling her “several times” to put on a mask, the officer warned Kitts that she would be asked to leave the premises and would be forced to wait outside the stadium.
“After several attempts to get her to leave, Officer Smith advised her she was under arrest for criminal trespassing and asked her to place her hands behind her back multiple times and she refused,” the press release continued. “Officer Smith attempted to place her hand behind her back, the female began resisting by pulling away from the Officer and another female began interfering with the arrest.”
Smith then instructed her to stop resisting, and cautioned that he would employ his Taser if she refused.
The video shows that he tased Kitts in the vicinity of her shoulder once, and handcuffed her as she continued to struggle.
While a Facebook group with more than 2,000 members is exhibiting increasing support for Smith, he has also encountered considerable criticism for the way his altercation with Kitts transpired.
WSYX-TV interviewed Skylar Steward, the father of Kitts’ son, who said that he does not excuse the threats against Smith, the department or the school system. However, he believes that it was not necessary for the situation to escalate in the manner it did and that the arrest is unjustified.
“This isn’t about a mask,” Steward said. “This is about control. It is government overreach.”
He has issued an official complaint against the Logan Police Department concerning the arrest.
Additional charges for Kitts and another person involved in the confrontation are pending, according to CBS News.
“This is an unfortunate incident for everyone involved. The incident remains under investigation,” the Logan Police Department said.
