Irate customer grabs pharmacy worker’s face mask

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A pharmacy customer upset at the cost of medication at a Publix supermarket in Fayetteville may end up in legal trouble after reaching across the counter and grabbing an employee’s face mask.

Police involvement began when Fayetteville officers on Jan. 5 were dispatched to the Publix grocery store on South Glynn Street on an alleged assault call.

Police met with the store employee, who was working in the Publix pharmacy department on the prior day, said Fayetteville Police Department spokesperson Ann Marie Burdett.

“The complainant told police that Publix staff complained that an unidentified male subject was giving them a hard time about paying for his medication,” Burdett said.

The employee said they approached the male subject to calm him down, but it did not work, Burdett added.

“The complainant stated the subject got upset with them, and the subject reached across the counter, grabbed and snapped the complainant’s face mask onto their face,” said Burdett.

The employee told police the upset customer said they would come back and find them if they had to pay more, Burdett noted.

Burdett said the case was turned over to the Fayetteville Criminal Investigations Division for further investigation.

15 COMMENTS

  1. You just never know with people these days, Covid, money issues, family issues, children, perhaps emotional or mental stress (illness?)….what kind of medication was it? Was he about to go on a date and needed a “little blue pill” or was it some vital drug for an illness? Some people are more rough shod than ever and it could just be bad temper and poor social skills….still no real excuse for that out burst….I would not give Brewster a hard time.

  2. I can translate.

    Brewster: “More likely was just off their unemployment checks”

    Translation: Poor people reach levels of desperation that cause them to act in in perverse ways and they should be scorned & ridiculed for it.

    If I got the translation incorrect, please feel free to correct me. I know asking for you to explain your comments is a burden since we wouldn’t understand anyway, but I think this forum would be open to hearing you out.

      • OK – I will humor yall this one time. My comment was more to Doon’s comment than anything else. I perceived that saying someone was “off their meds” could just be a cop-out for bad behavior. I mean, this person could have been picking up a prescription for their partner or family member and they weren’t on meds at all right? Furthermore, I read the article as this poor fellow was irate because of the increased price – not that he couldn’t get the meds. So what else could someone be “off of” other than meds that would cause this outburst? From seeing all the “We Are Hiring” signs everywhere and places working on reduced hours due to staff shortages I knew that part of the problem could have been that unemployment checks may be disincentivizing people to return to work. But I also heard that some of these checks were petering out so money may not be as readily available as it once was. So that was kinda my thought process. Now to your assumption that people on unemployment are poor and more inclined to act in a perverse way and that they should be scorned and ridiculed – that is just outright rotten. I’m not sure how you gauge a person as rich or poor but I assure you, that for me – it’s not the size of their checkbook. But actually – I thought Doon was making a joke and so I was trying to make one as well in the same context that he did. Is that enough words for you?

        • This is a very rare explanation from Bruce, and as you can see, a very convoluted attempt to revise the clear meaning of his post.

          Bruce is a sniper, not an apologist. His salvos consist of one liners devoid of pith, but brimming with unquestioned fealty to ultra-conservative dogma. Bruce will not explain his quips because openly articulating these beliefs would reveal their noxiousness, and it would highlight their clear divergence from a 1st century Galilean he purports to revere.

          Ironically, his avatar is Ester who regularly admonished the stereotypically closed-minded and ethnocentric Redd Foxx, when Bruce actually perpetuates these stereotypes. Maybe one day he will change over to his true 1970s TV comedic persona, Archie Bunker.

          I consider Bruce harmless like an uncle at Thanksgiving dinner who occasionally throws out some sophism gleaned from continual watching Fox News, but when questioned about its underpinnings, quiets and quickly becomes interested in his turkey.

          • You of all people, St. Fiction would be the last person to discern a clear meaning of anything, least of all to explain it. I’m glad I continue to get your goat. Keep puffing yourself up by letting us all listen to you explain to yourself what you wish others should believe.

          • Don’t worry, Uncle Bruce. You’re still part of The Citizen Commenter family, and we still love you regardless of your snipes.

            Stay warm!

          • C’mon STF. it’s not for me to defend Brewster, but I have enjoyed the sarcasm over the years. Brewster adds color, something I think we need on occasion.

          • Hi Doug – I do not wish to censure Uncle Bruce, but I merely elucidated the nature of his contributions. I love thoughtful sarcasm, but I find his one liners hardly witty, but rather, predictable right-wing blather. I hope he can up his game!

            At any rate, he is a longtime contributor and a part of the family. I always wish him well.

        • Nearly one in five or almost 20% of US adults (51.5M – 2019) live with a mental illness that includes a wide-range of conditions in varying degrees. [NIH of Mental Health] And many do not get the services needed. Sure, the above case can be one of social, behavioral and/or economic factors in play, but often these factors are the accelerants for their disorder as well. A little understanding and compassion (such as healthcare) should not be one political party’s ideal.