Video shows grocery store customers restraining man who coughed, spat on food

A video showing a 65-year-old man being restrained by several people at a local store after he allegedly spat and coughed on produce.

The video—recorded on Saturday in the Stop & Shop supermarket in Massachusetts—does not show what occurred before the citizen’s arrest, but several bystanders gave their eyewitness accounts.

Eyewitness Kyle Mann first uploaded the video to Facebook.

“Some guy at Stop and Shop in Kingston was coughing and spitting on the produce, he didn’t last long,” wrote Mann. “He fought an employee and good customers took him down until the cops arrived.”

The Kingston Massachusetts Police Department confirmed via Facebook that the incident did occur but did not identify the accused.

“The investigation remains on-going. It is alleged that a 65 year old male from Duxbury was coughing and spitting and became confrontational with staff and witnesses,” it stated.

After many shared their concerns on Facebook, Sergeant Michael Skowyra wrote a follow-up post, stating that the store discarded the affected food and deep-cleaned the area.

The officers also reported that the board of health has since inspected and deemed the store safe for shopping.

“Our families live, reside and shop in this town as well. We are taking all appropriate actions to ensure the safety of both our families and yours,” Skowyra stated.

READ MORE: