Louisiana store worker charged in water dousing attack during US cold snap

Clerk allegedly drenched unhoused woman sitting in parking lot of store where Alton Sterling was killed by police in 2016

A worker at a convenience store in Louisiana’s capital has lost her job and is facing criminal charges after she dumped water on an unhoused woman who was outside the shop during the Christmas weekend’s freezing weather.

The dismissed employee – identified by authorities as 33-year-old Kasey Weber – purportedly posted video of the 26 December encounter on social media herself before police arrested her in a case containing one of the most extreme examples of alleged mistreatment against a neighbor at a time when community leaders called on Americans to band together to survive the dangerous Arctic weather that gripped much of the US recently.

In the video, Weber is seen approaching the other woman as she bundled herself up outside the Triple S Food Mart in Baton Rouge, shouting at her to “move it” and tossing a bucket of water on her on a day when temperatures dipped as low as 25F (-3.8C). The footage went viral after being posted on Facebook as well as being reported on by the local television station WAFB The owner of the store said he fired Weber “because we do not handle situations like that”.

Baton Rouge police also issued Weber a misdemeanor court summons accusing her of simple battery. It is unclear if the person recording Weber is facing any legal consequences.

Attempts to contact Weber were not immediately successful.

At least one of Weber’s former co-workers spoke up for her in an interview with WAFB. That colleague told the station that Weber had a reputation for feeding people in the area who are homeless. But it’s possible Weber became upset when several unhoused people who gathered in front of the store refused to leave, that co-worker said.

The woman who Weber allegedly doused has since been connected with service providers in the area, according to Baton Rouge’s mayor, Sharon Weston Broome.

Baton Rouge’s behavioral health homeless outreach team also visited the store and spoke with the staff, Weston Broome added in a statement provided to the local TV news station WBRZ.

“This incident emphasized the continued need for our outreach efforts,” the mayor’s statement continued.

The Triple S Food Mart from which Weber was terminated landed in national headlines when Baton Rouge police shot Alton Sterling to death outside the store in 2016, prompting days of Black Lives Matter protests in the city. The store’s owner, Abdullah Muflahi, recorded a cellphone video of Sterling’s killing and turned it over to federal authorities as well as media reporters investigating whether the police’s use of force was justified.

“We just need to stick together,” Muflahi said at the time when asked to explain why he made sure video of Sterling’s final moments were seen widely.

The officer who fatally shot Sterling, Blane Salamoni, ultimately resigned. Another officer who helped pin Sterling to the ground, Howie Lake, received a three-day suspension, with investigators saying he lost his temper during the deadly encounter. Salamoni and Lake approached Sterling while investigating a call that a man was waving a gun outside the food mart while selling CDs.

Sterling’s family later settled a lawsuit against Baton Rouge’s city government and police department for $4.5m.

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