A disturbing video shows two young women attacking an off-duty police officer at a Missouri gas station, with one suspect allegedly reaching for the officer’s firearm during the assault.
The cellphone footage captures the women repeatedly striking the officer. At one point, one woman climbs onto a store shelf and jumps onto his head, while the other delivers a series of punches to his face.
The person recording the roughly two-minute confrontation does not step in. The victim, an off-duty Hillsdale Police Department officer working a private security job, was attacked Sunday morning at a QuikTrip in St. Louis County.
Near the end of the video, another officer enters the store and helps take the suspects into custody. Police said one of the women had attempted to pull the victim’s gun from its holster.
According to charging documents reviewed by KDSK, the confrontation began after 20-year-old Nayonna Griffin threw items at the officer. He then approached her, authorities said.
A second 20-year-old suspect, Shaniya Lewis, became involved and struggled with the officer before bringing him to the floor, the documents state.
Police allege that Lewis repeatedly punched the officer in the face as Griffin stomped on his head. Lewis then reached for the officer’s weapon but could not remove it from the holster.
When additional officers arrived to arrest Griffin, she allegedly pulled one officer’s hair, kicked and flailed, and fought to escape. She also tried to stop officers from placing her in handcuffs, according to the charging documents.
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The officer was taken to a hospital for treatment following the attack.
Authorities have not released the officer’s identity.
Lewis and Griffin each face charges of second-degree assault of a special victim and resisting or interfering with an arrest for a felony.
Both women were being held on $100,000 cash-only bonds.
The St. Louis County Police Department’s North County Precinct is leading the investigation, which remains ongoing.