- Racist employee refused to help pregnant customer, then violently attacked her
- Incident captured on video, employee pleaded no contest to assault charge
- Victim suffered miscarriage, traumatizing her family, and is seeking compensation
Everyone needs to keep their hands to themselves. It can save your life, someone else’s life, or a life that hasn’t even been brought into the world yet.
According to WTOL, a Black, pregnant, South Carolina woman named Deria Francis Stukes has filed a lawsuit against a white Circle K gas station employee who attacked her and allegedly caused a traumatic miscarriage. The mother was traveling from South Carolina to Detroit with her family when she stopped to fill up in Toledo. Stukes says she paid for her gas up front but forgot to enter her rewards points number. In this economy, we need every reward, discount, freebie, and advantage possible just to get by. Upon asking the white cashier, Shannon Walsh, if she could still enter her number, Stukes was told “no.” When she asked Walsh to cancel the transaction, she was told “no” again.
“She gave me every excuse why she couldn’t do it and it didn’t make sense,” Stukes told WTOL 11.
There is no way that Circle K is paying this obtuse Becky enough money to care about canceling a transaction. She could have easily just helped Stukes out and gone about her mediocre** day, but no, the Karen instincts kicked in, and all hell broke loose.
Stukes says that Walsh not only became verbally combative using racist slurs, but she also physically attacked the pregnant woman by throwing rolls of coins at her, pulling her hair, hitting her, and pushing her into a beverage cooler, allegedly. To be clear, this ain’t no “he said, she said” recounting of the story. The whole thing is captured on video. Don’t believe us, just watch.
First and foremost, there was absolutely no reason to call the police, but that’s how white folks get down when Black people stand up for themselves and refuse to tolerate disrespect. Moreover, Walsh called the police to enact violence against Stukes and then lost her temper to the point that she committed the violence herself. She wasn’t under threat or intimidation. “Raising your voice” is not a crime; however, negligent assault is, and Walsh pleaded no contest to the charge and was subsequently ordered by the court to take anger management counseling.
Sadly, the incident didn’t end there. In the hours following the fracas, Stukes says she suffered severe cramping and was told by her doctor that she had miscarried her baby.
“It makes me very emotional because of the fact that I did lose a child and my two sons were there to witness it and how terrified they were,” said Stukes. “They just haven’t been able to sleep, and then my youngest baby, my 8-year-old, Michael, he’s been jumping up out of his sleep running and and screaming.”
Stukes is being represented by Charles E. Boyk and is seeking compensatory damages for physical injuries, emotional distress, and the loss of the pregnancy.
“This never should have happened. Rev. Francis was a pregnant mother simply trying to redeem a routine store loyalty reward. Something Circle K actively encourages its customers to do,” said lead attorney Charles E. Boyk in a statement. “Instead, she was violently attacked, subjected to racist slurs, and suffered the unimaginable loss of her unborn child. No family should ever experience such brutality, especially in a business that claims to serve the public.”
We hope Mrs. Stukes takes every red cent from Circle K and this abhorrent woman.
