A Black woman found not guilty of the disorderly conduct claim that led an Alabama Waffle House to call police on her still faces one year of probation in the encounter that left her topless and handcuffed on the floor.
Chikesia Clemons was also sentenced to six months in jail Wednesday, but that was a suspended sentence, according to The Birmingham News.
She was still ordered to pay $500 in court costs after being found guilty of resisting arrest on Aug. 24, the newspaper reported.
Clemons’ case sparked a national effort to boycott the restaurant after footage of the incident went viral. Advocates used Clemon’s case as an example of what police brutality against Black women looks like.
The encounter that sparked the criticism was reported at about 2:30 a.m. April 22 2018 at a Saraland Waffle House. Employees called police on Clemons and claimed she was threatening workers with violence, several media outlets reported.
When Saraland police officers arrived, the video footage showed one officer grabbing Clemons as she sat and tried to hold up a short strapless jean dress.
Two other officers joined in to wrestle the woman to the floor, exposing her breasts, the video showed.
At one point, an officer is heard threatening to break Clemons’ arm.
Clemons, 26, was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.
She was initially found guilty of both charges, but appeal trial Judge Brandy Hambright tossed out the disorderly conduct charge in a court decision Aug. 24, The Birmingham News reported.
Related: Waffle House Victim Chikesia Clemons Found Guilty of Disorderly Conduct, Gets 10-Day Jail Sentence
Defense attorney Marcus Foxx said he was happy with part of the decision, but he filed a motion to challenge the resisting arrest charge.
Hambright hasn’t ruled on that motion, so the sentencing stands today, the newspaper reported.
Clemons told Teen Vogue in April she’s had a hard time finding work because of the incident, so she set up a GoFundMe page and has surpassed a $25,000 fundraising goal by more than $300.
“I lost my job. I haven’t had a job in almost a year now because no one would hire me due to [me having] this national pending case that deals with racism and discrimination,” she told the magazine. “It has had an enormous effect on me.”
She said she deals with PTSD and depression and that she also has days when she feels she’s “not good enough.”
“They put me on the ground at the Waffle House.” she said. “I feel like I want to just disappear sometimes. It has put an emotional strain, a physical strain, a mental strain on me.”
