The footage shows a police officer entering the Bank of America branch in Galveston and telling the woman that the bank can refuse service if she doesn’t put on a mask. She insists she doesn’t have to and the police say she will be arrested for “meddling in the facility” if she refuses to cooperate or leave the bank. Eventually, the officer handcuffs her and removes her from the bank.
Terry White, 65, told KTRK that he entered the bank without a mask and was asked by an employee if she had one. White replied, “No, thanks, I don’t need one,” and she received a mask from the employee.
When White refused the mask, she said she was asked to leave.
“I said no, I just wanted to close my account and then I’m leaving,” she told KTRK. “(The official) says, ‘Well, if you don’t go, I’m going to call the police.’ I said, ‘Well, do what you have to do.’ “
Galveston Mayor Craig Brown told CNN that the woman was arrested on charges of trespassing – “not for not wearing a mask”.
According to the KTRK, police said White was accused of criminal invasion and resistance to arrest.
CNN contacted White, but received no response. Neither the Galveston Police Department nor Bank of America responded to requests for comment.
What the footage shows
The footage from the body’s camera shows a Galveston police officer entering the bank and confronting the woman on Thursday, saying to her, “Madam, if they ask you out, you have to go out.”
The woman tells the police officer that she is trying to withdraw her money. The officer responds by telling her that the officer says she still has to “stick to the rules”.
“Companies have the right to refuse the service, even if you are not wearing a mask. This is their choice ”, says the executive.
“What are you going to do,” she asks, “arrest me?”
“Yes, for invading the premises,” says the policeman. He tells the woman to leave.
The woman insists that she is in a public place (“This is a private business,” says the officer) and accuses the officer of “taking away people’s human rights”.
A brief struggle ensues when the woman initially appears to resist while the policeman starts to handcuff her. Soon she is on the bank floor, saying to other people inside the bank, who seem to be wearing masks: “Police brutality, people.”
“No,” they say. “No, it’s not.”
The officer takes the woman off the bench. She says she thinks the policeman broke his foot, and the policeman calls emergency medical services. He places it in the back of a patrol car before the shooting is over.
The reopening is a ‘delicate balance’, says the mayor
In an interview on Friday, White told the KTRK that he traveled to Galveston in his recreational vehicle and was aware of the governor’s order to remove the mask. The KTRK reported that White was happy to have stood her ground and that she “totally opposes” the masks, saying at one point, “I’m not going to wear this diaper on my face”.
“Many of the businesses, restaurants and shopping areas here on the island are still demanding, or demanding, that all of their clients and customers wear masks,” said Galveston Mayor Brown. “This particular incident was a lady who refused to do this, the bank said that this is their policy.”
“It is a delicate balance,” he added, to maintain security while vacancies open. “That’s why we still encourage everyone on our island to maintain social distance and wear their masks.”