An 8-minute video of a Black man being detained by people at the Rural King store in Conover has been viewed nearly 200,000 times on social media.
by Isaiah Evans, of Lenoir, on Tuesday. The video had nearly 200,000 views as of Thursday afternoon. Evans said he and his family have received death threats due to his commentary in the video.
Two people are facing charges following the dispute.
Renard Kiah Legette Edwards, 29, of Morganton, and Isis Tishonia Bell, 24, of Charlotte, are each charged with one count of felony larceny and one count of simple assault, Conover Police Chief Robert Houston said.
Houston said Edwards and Bell also were served with outstanding arrest warrants out of Burke County. Bell and Edwards each are charged with felony larceny and larceny by anti-inventory device in Burke County, according to the Catawba County Detention Facility’s inmate records.
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Houston said police officers were called to the Rural King at 508 10th St. NW around 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday. Houston said the call referenced a larceny and fight in progress.
Evans said he was visiting the Rural King with his grandpa on Tuesday. He said it was their first visit to the store that sells items ranging from goat feed to denim jeans. As they were checking out, Evans said the store alarm system began ringing.
Evans said a Black man attempted to leave the Rural King with a shopping cart full of Milwaukee tools. Evans said as the man was trying to leave the store, he hit a pink-haired woman with the shopping cart. A man accompanying the pink-haired woman tackled the man who was pushing the shopping cart, Evans said.
The video begins as two men start fighting. A third man steps in to break up the fight. The three men fall to the ground. A Black man is held in a headlock for approximately one minute. The men then get up from the ground and continue to struggle until police officers arrive, according to the video.
The video was shot by Evans. He did not participate in the scuffle, but he did provide commentary that created controversy.
In the video, the Black man could be heard yelling that he couldn’t breathe throughout the altercation.
Evans said he made comments referencing the death of 46-year-old George Floyd while he was recording the video.
George Floyd is a Black man who died after police detained him outside a store in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on May 25, 2020. A store clerk accused Floyd of using a counterfeit $20 bill. During the interaction, Minneapolis Police Department Officer Derek Michael Chauvin, a white man, knelt on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes while Floyd repeatedly said he couldn’t breathe. Floyd’s death sparked the Black Lives Matter movement in the summer of 2020.
“I'm not apologizing for the situation, no matter how many times I'm called and threatened,†Evans said about posting the video. “I spoke up on something that needs to be spoke up about, and I'm going to stand on that.â€
Evans said his comments about George Floyd are what caused people to begin threatening him and calling him a racist. Evans said people posted his address and the address of his parents online. He said people have called his mother’s work to harass her. Evans said he filed police reports with both the Caldwell County Sheriff’s Office and the Alexander County Sheriff’s Office because of the threats.
“I’m not racist. I have no issue with people of color, people of different sexualities, creeds, whatever,†Evans said. “I don't care if you're black, blue, triangle, circle. I don't care as long as you respect me. I’ll respect you. This isn't a matter of race.â€
Evans said the reason he posted the video was to show people it is wrong to steal and that more should be done to prevent larcenies from businesses.
“What happened that day was a man was trying to be stopped from stealing,†Evans said. “And that's the way it should be everywhere, because some of these stores have policies to let people walk out with merch under a certain amount and just get by with it. They're not allowed to apprehend them, and that's making our economy suffer and the people of the community suffer.â€
The human resources department of the Rural King in Conover declined to comment.