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Authorities arrested a Louisiana man after he allegedly backed his car into an off-duty police officer who had asked him to wear a face mask.
West Monroe police arrested Ricky Taylor, 64, on Tuesday outside a Walmart Supercenter on three charges: aggravated assault with a motor vehicle on an officer, resisting arrest, and disorderly conduct.
According to an arrest report, Taylor became "unruly" after off-duty officer Greg Moorhead had requested that Taylor wear a face mask while shopping in the Walmart — now a legally-mandated policy across the state.
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards ordered a statewide mask requirement on July 11 in an effort to help mitigate the spread of coronavirus.
Moorhead had reportedly offered Taylor a mask inside the store, but Taylor began cursing at the officer, yelling, "You can't make me wear a f***ing mask," and "I'm not wearing a f***ing mask," the arrest report stated.
As Moorhead tried to place Taylor under arrest for disorderly conduct, Taylor refused to provide his driver's license. The officer attempted instead to run Taylor's license plate, but Taylor "backed his vehicle up and struck [Moorhead] two different times," according to a second arrest report.
Moorhead did not fall down but did lose his balance, the report stated. Taylor maintained that he "could not wear a mask because of a medical condition" and that he "did not see the officer behind his vehicle."
Taylor was released on bond Wednesday night after being held at the Ouachita Correction Center in Monroe.
Newsweek contacted the West Monroe Police Department for comment, but did not hear back in time for publication.
News of Taylor's arrest comes amid similar situations around the U.S. in which mandated mask policies have sparked violent outbursts.
On Sunday, a Florida woman called mask wearers "cult members" after being asked to leave a Walmart Neighborhood Market in Winter Springs.
That same day, a Florida man allegedly pulled a gun on another shopper in a Royal Palm Beach Walmart over an argument about wearing masks.
The contentious coronavirus health policy is becoming more popular among Americans, however, according to recent polls.
A new Axios-Ipsos poll conducted between July 10 and 13 showed that a greater portion of the general population said they wore face masks when leaving their homes this month compared with June. About 62 percent of those polled said they did not leave home without wearing a face covering, up nearly 10 percent since the previous June survey, suggesting a more widespread use of masks in public.
