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A female City of St. Louis Sheriff’s Office deputy was beaten with her own expandable baton after asking a woman to wear a mask inside a gas station.
The unidentified deputy was working security at the North Tucker Shell gas station on December 25 when the suspect walked into the station at approximately 11:52 p.m. without a mask, St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department said in a statement.
The 59-year-old deputy, who was in uniform, told the woman that she had to wear a mask while inside the business premises. It was then that the suspect “became belligerent,” the statement said.
According to the deputy, the suspect walked out of the store soon after, and shoved her before punching her. The deputy’s baton was allegedly taken by the suspect at some point during the attack.
A cellphone video showed the deputy on the ground as the suspect hit her with the baton outside the store. Two witnesses rushed towards the woman, and briefly tussled with her before one of them pried the baton from her hand.
The suspect then walked past the pumps and towards a car parked nearby. The deputy rushed after the woman, and caught up to her as she got into the passenger seat.
They struggled as onlookers gathered, and the sound of a Taser being fired was heard at some point in the video. The suspect grabbed the deputy’s head after managing to sit down in the passenger seat, and the deputy swung her baton towards the woman, who pushed her away and slammed the car door closed. The suspect then fled the scene.
Police stated in the statement that the deputy suffered a concussion because of the attack but that she declined medical attention at the scene.
Police are still looking for the suspect, described as a black female approximately six foot two inches tall, and weighing about 195 pounds.
She was last seen wearing a dark shirt, black pants, and a black coat. She has long, straight black hair, police said, adding that she could have been wearing a wig.