Ohio Man Arrested After Pulling Out Brass Knuckles Over Face Mask Policy

A 20-year-old man from Ohio was arrested for carrying a concealed weapon. It was after an officer from Perkins Township saw him pull out a set of brass knuckles when he was asked to leave the store because he was not wearing a face mask.

Refusal to wear a mask

The police responded to an alarm at the Walmart in Sandusky about 5 p.m. on November 21 after dispatch was advised of a customer refusing to put his mask on, according to the Perkins Township police report.

An officer spoke to an employee, who said a customer was refusing to put a mask on, and another employee, who said that they asked the man to leave, but he ignored them, according to Fox.

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The police officer then made contact with the mask-less man, and the report states that the man did not look happy that the officer was there. The officer told the man that he was not there because he was not wearing a mask, but because he refused to leave.

The Ohio man said that he was not told to leave, and when the police officer asked him what was going on, he said that the people in the store were trying to make his decisions, according to News 5.

The officer then tried to explain to the man that he was on private property and must adhere to the rules, but the man tried to argue. The store employees told the officer that they just wanted the man to leave and that if he returned, he needed to wear a mask, or he would be considered trespassing.

The officer then asked the man to leave the store, and as the man began to walk away, the officer saw him stick his left hand into his pocket and pull out a set of brass knuckles.

According to the police report, the officer stopped him, removed his brass knuckles, placed his hands behind his back, and secured him in handcuffs. The officer searched the man, and he removed a razor blade knife from his pocket, which the man told the officer about.

The report stated that as the police officer escorted the man out of the store, he started shouting. The man was eventually charged with carrying a concealed weapon, and a judge advised bond for him.

Representatives of Walmart said that they did not wish to press any charges against the man for trespassing. The man later refused to sign the trespass notice, and he was banned from all Walmart and Sam's Club stores.

Ohio COVID-19 cases

On November 23, the state of Ohio reported 11,000 new coronavirus cases. Four counties are now listed at the state's highest risk level on the COVID-19 advisory system, and 11 counties are currently on the governor's watch list.

Lake, Lorain, and Montgomery counties have moved to the highest risk level, joining Franklin County, which has been on the list for a second straight week, according to NBC News.

Lake, Lorain, and Montgomery are moving to purple in the alert system because they are experiencing sustained increases in outpatient, emergency, and hospital visits by COVID-19 patients, according to Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine.