A white security guard at a Taco Bell in downtown Los Angeles was filmed slapping a Black woman in the face after she refused to leave the store, but it’s unclear from the video why she was confronted.
The brutal incident happened on Feb. 9, when footage captured the woman stomping away from the uniformed guard and proceeding to place her order at the self-service kiosk.
The security guard followed close behind, seizing the woman’s arm just as she began tapping the touch screen. The woman yanked away aggressively, and that’s when the officer squared up and slapped the woman hard across the face, sending her stumbling backward.
The sound of the man’s palm striking the woman’s face sent shock waves through the dining room.
Alejandro Sanchez, 29, who witnessed the incident, said the woman was ordering food when the guard told her to leave, though it’s not clear why. Taco Bell has not yet commented on the incident.
“The security guard was telling her to leave, and she didn’t want to because she was ordering food,” Alejandro Sanchez, who recorded the viral video, told SWNS. “Then he just went off, and she started going crazy.”
He noted that Taco Bell staff seemed more worried about him filming than the vicious actions by the guard. Sanchez also questioned whether the woman was singled out because of her race.
“He slapped the s–t out of her. It was crazy. Everybody was shocked,” he told the outlet. “There’s a Skid Row a couple of blocks away, and there’s always a lot of foot traffic,” said Sanchez, a regular at the Taco Bell. He speculated whether the woman was targeted because she appeared to be homeless.
After being slapped silly, the woman clutched her face in shock and moved away from the guard, retreating to the other end of the restaurant.
The guard then trailed the woman, who continued to clutch her face, clearly injured while standing beneath a flat screen airing the Super Bowl. “Get away from me, get away from me,” she yelled at the guard. They faced off and exchanged heated words before the guard ultimately ushered her out of the restaurant, the video shows.
