A Black woman who says she was violently attacked by a pet store owner when she asked for a refund has posted the video of their encounter.
Judea Strong captured the incident on her cell phone on June 28, 2021 at Exotics & Aquatics pet store in Roanoke, Virginia.
She said she went to the store to ask for a refund for snake food when the owner ordered her to leave the store.
When she went to return the snake food, she was told the store doesn’t issue cash refunds, only store credit.
She said, after returning to the store several times, there was no one on duty to issue the store credit.
Strong’s boyfriend also attempted to get store credit without success. He posted a scathing review of the business on Facebook, which angered the store owner, Daniel Rosen.
Rosen responded to the review, asking him to not come back. The store also added that if he did return, he would be escorted out.
On June 28, Strong returned to the store to get a refund. Her boyfriend remained in the car, since he was banned from the store.
Video footage shows Strong calmly asking for a refund, when Rosen, his elderly mom and his son came from behind the counter and ordered her to leave.
“His mom tries to grab me and throw me out,” said Strong. “I tell them, ‘don’t put your hands on me.’ 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,” said Strong.
Her boyfriend, who by now is outside the door, grabbed Rosen and restrained him after he put his foot on Strong’s chest.
Rosen later told police he put his foot on Strong’s chest “to push her out.”
A substitute judge found Rosen not guilty of assault earlier this week.
“For two years, her and her boyfriend came into the store belittling my employees and berating my mother,” explained Rosen.
He said Strong did not record herself cursing out his mother before going to the counter. Strong denied that accusation by Rosen.
Strong decided to post the video online to draw attention to her ordeal.
“After the charges were dismissed and everything, I was like this isn’t right. I can’t let this happen. I want to let other people know,” said Strong.
Rosen said after the video was posted on Facebook, his store received numerous racist phone calls and threats.
“I assure you I’m not a racist. I have many ethnicities working for me and I’m friends with them,” said Rosen.
Strong never mention race in her post.
Twitter activist Tariq Nasheed re-posted Strong’s video with the caption:
“A Black woman tried to get a refund from Exotics & Aquatics in Roanoke Virginia, and the suspected white supremacist owner and her son violently assaulted the woman.”
A Black woman tried to get a refund from Exotics & Aquatics in Roanoke Virginia, and the suspected white supremacist owner and her son violently assaulted the woman pic.twitter.com/H8FwezFzmr
— Tariq Nasheed ?? (@tariqnasheed) December 16, 2021
