A St. Louis police officer is recovering from a concussion after she was beaten with her own baton for telling a female customer to wear a face mask.
Police are still searching for the woman who beat the sheriff’s deputy at a Shell station on North Tucker in downtown St. Louis on Christmas Day.
The altercation took place after the woman walked into the gas station with face mask in hand.
The 59-year-old deputy who was moonlighting as security asked the customer to put her mask on. Police say the woman became belligerent, fought with the deputy then beat the law enforcement officer about the head with her own baton.
Bystanders rushed over to help the wounded officer, who then used her baton to pummel the woman in her car before she managed to drive off.
Sheriff Vernon Betts said the deputy “performed admirably while injured and under duress. This incident points to the dangers law enforcement officers face every day.”
Some states have mask mandates making it illegal to be in public without face masks or face coverings.
