A woman has gone viral after posting a video of what she claims was excessive force taken against an alleged shoplifter at Castleton Square Mall in Indianapolis, Indiana.
In the video, which currently has over 231,000 views, one can see two plain-clothes security guards detaining a man. The man can be heard professing his innocence and saying that he had not left the store, while the two security guards claim that detail is irrelevant.
Prior to the video, TikTok user Maraya (@marayamashae) says she observed the alleged shoplifter “screaming while getting kicked and punched” by the security guards, prompting her to intervene.
@marayamashae Went to #castletonsquaremall for retail therapy and noticed a man screaming while getting kicked and punched so I had to record and intervene. Once I stopped recording I was called a black b**** for not minding my business #protectblackmen ♬ original sound – Maraya Mashae898
Maraya then confronts the security guards, as they did not identify themselves as either security guards or police officers.
When asked by Maraya if they are police officers, both apprehenders remain quiet. After she then asks for them to identify themselves or show the alleged shoplifter their badges, one security guard removes an ID card from his pocket and holds it in the air. He still does not say whether he is a security guard or a police officer.
“We don’t have to show him a badge,” one of the security guards says.
After a few more moments, Maraya asks if they are going to call the actual police.
“Do you want to call them for me?” one of the security officers asks in response. Maraya declines, clarifying in a later video that she did not feel comfortable ending her recording until she was sure that more people were capturing the incident (which others soon did).
Eventually, a uniformed security officer arrives and attempts to pull the alleged shoplifter away. The man refuses, again saying that he had legally purchased all of his items.
According to two follow-up videos posted by Maraya, when police actually did arrive, the man was proven correct. He actually had purchased all of the items in question and, according to Maraya, was dragged out of the store prior to the video.
@marayamashae ♬ original sound – Maraya Mashae898
@marayamashae Replying to @danasomfinofficial ♬ original sound – Maraya Mashae898
In the first video, Maraya also claims that one of the security guards called her a “black bitch” for attempting to intervene.
She further notes that she understood the man’s confusion and refusal to comply with the security guards’ orders given the fact that they were in plain clothes and the man was legally in the right.
“Irregardless of if you think that he stole something or not, that doesn’t give anyone the right to use excessive force or put their hands on him, especially if they’re not an officer,” she says. “If that was me, and you looked just like a regular civilian, I would have beat the s-h-i-t out of you. Period.”
“It’s very clear…Make yourself announced [with] who you are before just beating on someone,” she concludes. “That was just too much.”
Maraya also says that she reported the incident to the Macy’s location.
“He was not arrested,” Maraya says of the man. “He was put on ‘no trespass’ with Macy’s, but no, he was not arrested.”
In comments, users were taken aback by the force used by the security guards and thankful that Maraya was there to attempt to stop it.
“They wanted to hurt that man,” a commenter claimed. “they took him to a secluded area OUTSIDE for “shoplifting” … they don’t even make sense.”
“My first question is why did they drag him out and not hold him inside? If I were him I’d sue the pants off of Macy’s and press charges on those men,” another added.
“They got interrupted,” a third wrote of the security guards. “Thank you for being brave.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Macy’s and the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department via email, Castleton Square Mall via website contact form, and Maraya via TikTok comment.