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Surveillance video shows woman put in chokehold at beauty store

By Mark Barber
By Mark Barber

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Channel 9 has obtained surveillance video for the first time from a west Charlotte beauty store that shows what happened before a woman was slammed to the ground and put in a chokehold earlier this month.

[PAST COVERAGE: Video shows confrontation between male store employee, female customer]

Hundreds of thousands of people have seen a customer's viral video of the intense fight at Missha Beauty. The new surveillance video showed what happened in the moments leading up to the struggle.

(Click PLAY to watch customer's cell phone video)

Managers said the woman in a pink hoodie can be seen in the surveillance video pocketing merchandise from the store. They said the woman grabbed about $30 worth of lipstick, jewelry and eyelashes but then she paid only for a $1 item at the register.

The situation escalated when the manager tried to stop her.

The woman is seen in the video trying to force her way out the door. A customer started to shoot video shortly afterward which showed the manager throwing the woman to the floor and putting her in a chokehold.

(Click PLAY to watch surveillance video from store)

The manager and his wife were fired. They have issued a public apology.

The woman who was slammed to the ground has hired an attorney because she thinks he took it too far.

"I want justice for the woman that was violently attacked," attorney Yolanda Trotman said.

Trotman thinks the manager should be prosecuted, but she said no one will press charges.

"She made an effort to go to the magistrate's office to have at least at the minimum, an assault on a female charge. That was denied," Trotman said.

While police aren't saying whether they're considering charging the manager, they said citizens can use reasonable force to keep someone who is committing a crime. But the question still remains, was the force used to stop the woman accused of shoplifting reasonable?

"What we don't want to do, from anyone's perspective, is have anything turn violent," CMPD Deputy Chief Jeff Estes said.

Shoplifting is a frequent problem at the store. Before Channel 9 showed up at the establishment on Monday, a woman stole a Taser, authorities said. Managers have now hired a security officer to handle shoplifting cases so their confrontations don't go too far next time.

Store officials said some customers boycotted the store for a few days. Management told Channel 9 that they are continuing to repair the relationship with the community.

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