New York woman attacked, kicked in head by cashier who thought she was trans
A woman was attacked and kicked in the head by a New York cashier who believed she was transgender. (Getty)
A New York woman is filing a discrimination lawsuit against a deli cashier who brutally attacked her, believing that she was transgender.
Jasmine Adams, a bisexual cisgender woman, had been shopping at West Brighton Deli Grocery & Grill in Staten Island when she was horrifically and unexpectedly attacked by the cashier behind the counter.
After he maced her and accused her of being transgender, the cashier grabbed Adams by the hair, pulling her down the concrete steps of the store throwing her to the ground, and kicking her in the head.
Despite the entire ordeal being caught on camera by another customer, no arrests have been made as of yet by NYPD.
While the deli confirms that the cashier in question has been fired, they had not cooperated with police in helping to identify the suspect.
In her lawsuit against West Brighton Deli Grocery & Grill, Adams claims that the attack occurred because the cashier “perceived plaintiff to be transgender,” the New York Daily News reports.
Adams, who says she was wearing an Apple watch wristband that had the pride rainbow colours on it at the time of the attack, said: “Even if I was a transvestite, what does that have to do with anything?
“Why were you so comfortable putting your hands on me? I wasn’t being aggressive. I didn’t have any weapon. I was a customer.”
Adams explained that the misunderstanding first occurred because she was on the phone to a friend while making a purchase at the deli.
The 35-year-old mother of two had been purchasing marijuana for a friend, and had been on the phone to said friend to make sure she was buying the right product, since Adams is not a smoker herself.
Adams believes that the cashier mistook her phone conversation as an attempt to haggle on price.
“I said it wasn’t about the price and that I was just trying to figure out what I was buying,” Adams said.
“So I paid. But he sucked his teeth and got mad and me and threw (the marijuana packet) on the floor.
“He said I was trying to get him fired and that he was going to call the cops,” she recalled.
“I said, ‘Call the cops! I just want my money back.’ Then I heard him call me a transvestite. I’m like, ‘Transvestite? I’m a whole female. I have lady parts.’”
Suddenly Adams was maced in the face. As the cashier ran around the counter toward her, Adams says she grabbed a coffee pot to swing it at him, but she isn’t sure whether or not she successfully hit him.
When the cashier dragged her out of the store by the hair, a number of people captured the moment on their smartphones.
In one video, seen by the New York Daily News, one passerby can be heard crying out: “Oh my God!”, while another comments: “You don’t have to do all that.”
Somehow, after being kicked in the head, Adams managed to climb into her car and drive away.
After driving a block, Adams stopped her car and flagged down a couple to ask for help.
“I said to myself that I gotta get outta here because I don’t know if he’s going to kill me,” she recalled.
After calling 911 and waiting four hours for police to arrive, Adams notes that officers seemed to be familiar with the attacker. Still, no arrests have been made as of yet.
As she pursues legal action, Adams has said that its her grandmother and mother who have been her source of strength throughout all of this.
“They said that what happened to you is not right and that you need to let everyone know that,” Adams said.
“For me, it’s not about the money. Whatever my sexual preference is, it shouldn’t be questioned when I walk in the store.”
