Video Shows Woman Getting Tased at Middle School Football Game After Not Wearing Mask

A video shared to Facebook shows a woman in Logan, Ohio, being shot with a Taser and arrested during a middle school football game because she was not wearing a mask and then declined to leave when confronted by a police officer.

The video, originally shared by Facebook user Tiffany Lynn Kennedy, points out that two police officers involved in the arrest also were not wearing a mask or not wearing it properly. "Nothing anyone ever says will justify what that cop did," Kennedy wrote.

In the clip, the school resource officer can be seen approaching the maskless woman, who appears to be with a couple of young children and another woman, all of whom are wearing masks. The officer, who is wearing a mask, briefly confronts the unidentified woman before he begins trying to remove her from the bleachers where she is sitting.

The woman objects loudly, saying, "I'm not doing anything wrong." After a struggle, with the woman repeatedly pulling her wrists away from the officer, he shoots her with a Taser as she screams. The officer's mask falls down so his mouth and nose are completely exposed. He then successfully handcuffs the woman and leads her away. Another officer—who does not appear to be wearing a mask—can be seen running to join him.

Newsweek reached out to the Logan Police Department for comment, but it did not respond in time for publication. The Logan-Hocking School District referred Newsweek to a statement it had made earlier and to a statement released by the police.

In a statement posted to Facebook Thursday, the police said the incident occurred around 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday and identified the arresting officer as Chris Smith. It also identified the woman as Alecia Kitts.

"Officer Smith was walking in the stadium and observed a female sitting in the stands without a mask. He approached the female and advised her she needed to put her mask on, as required by the school policy. The female advised that she had asthma and was not going to put it on," the police statement said.

After a back-and-forth, the statement explained that Smith "advised her she was under arrest for criminal trespassing and asked her to place her hands behind her back multiple times and she refused."

"[Kitts] was charged with criminal trespassing and released at the scene. Additional charges are pending on Mrs. Kitts and another female subject involved in the incident," the statement said.

It went on, "It is important to note the female was not arrested for failing to wear a mask, she was asked to leave the premises for continually violating school policy. Once she refused to leave the premises, she was advised she was under arrest for criminal trespassing. She resisted the arrest, which led to the use of force."

Cleveland TV channel WJW Fox 8 News reported on a statement from the school district. "During a middle school football game held at the Logan-Hocking Local School District on the evening of September 23, 2020, an attendee was asked to comply with the Ohio High School Athletic Association's and the athletic facility's policies. The attendee refused to do so and consequently was asked to leave by the attending law enforcement officer," the school district said.

"After resisting the request to exit the premises, the individual was apprehended at the discretion of the attending law enforcement officer," the statement added.

The school district's buildings are now reportedly on lockout after threats, which authorities believe are associated with the video and the incident, according to CBS affiliate WBNS 10 in Columbus. The district received "nonspecific" threats but entered lockout as a precaution, blocking all visitors from entering school buildings without a specific reason.