A white pet store owner whose violent confrontation with a Black customer was caught on video has been found not guilty.
The victim, Judea Strong, posted her cell phone video of the incident online this week after her alleged attacker, Daniel Rosen, was found not guilty of assault and battery.
“After the charges were dismissed and everything, I was like, this isn’t right, I can’t let this happen.,” Strong told NBC Channel 10. “I want to let other people know.”
According to the station, Strong’s video “has people asking if a business can treat someone in the way displayed on the video and get away with it?”
The incident occurred at Exotics & Aquatics in Roanoke County, Virginia, in June, after Strong attempted to obtain a refund for snake food she had purchased.
“His (Rosen’s) mom tries to grab me and throw me out. I tell them, ‘Don’t put your hands on me,'” Strong told the station. “They continue to approach. Several people are trying to hold him back. He’s absolutely enraged. He literally picks me up off the ground, carries me over to the door, and throws me out.”
Strong said she suffered a concussion and bruises from the attack.
Rosen, however, claimed that Strong “tripped and fell over the rug at the front door” — and denied that she was injured, the station reports.
A police officer who reviewed the store’s surveillance video reportedly testified in court that Rosen also placed his foot on Strong’s chest. But when the officer told Rosen that he had kicked Strong, he replied, “No, I used my foot to push her out.”
Rosen told Channel 10 that the surveillance footage no longer exists because the system stores data for only 24-48 hours.
Strong, who had been a customer of Exotics & Aquatics for two years, said she initially tried to get a cash refund for the snake food but was told she could only receive a store credit. She repeatedly returned to the store, but no one was on duty who could process the credit.
Strong’s boyfriend later posted a scathing review of Exotics & Aquatics online, prompting the store to ban him from the premises. Strong’s boyfriend reportedly was waiting in the car when the incident occurred, but her mother witnessed it and testified in court.
Rosen alleged that Strong and her boyfriend had been coming into the store for two years and “belittling my employees and berating my mother.” He claimed Strong was cursing out his mother before the start of her video and gave them the middle finger while holding her phone at her side.
“Rosen said since Strong posted on Facebook, his business has gotten a lot of calls accusing him of racism,” the station reports.
“I assure you I’m not a racist,” Rosen said. “I have many ethnicities working for me and I’m friends with them.”
The local district attorney told the station that his office determined Rosen’s “use of force was unreasonable and exceeded that which was legally justified under the circumstances.”
However, a Roanoke County judge disagreed, and found Rosen not guilty.
Watch Strong’s cell-phone video below.
