An off-duty police officer working security at a Missouri QuikTrip was hospitalized after two young women attacked him in a caught-on-camera brawl that included an attempt to grab his service weapon.
The Sunday morning incident unfolded at the gas station in north St. Louis County, where the Hillsdale Police Department officer was working a secondary job, according to charging documents. Nayonna Griffin, 20, allegedly threw items at the officer, drawing him toward her before the confrontation escalated.
Shaniya Lewis, also 20, then jumped into the fray. Charging documents state Lewis struggled with the officer, threw him to the ground, and repeatedly punched him in the face while Griffin stomped on his head. At one point during the two-minute attack captured on cell phone footage, Lewis climbed up shelving to jump on the officer’s head.
The video shows the man filming did not intervene to help the officer. Lewis then reached for the officer’s gun but could not remove it from its holster, police said.
When additional officers arrived to detain Griffin, she allegedly grabbed an officer’s hair, kicked and flailed, and tried to prevent being handcuffed while attempting to flee, according to charging documents.
Both women face second-degree assault of a special victim and resisting or interfering with an arrest for a felony. Lewis and Griffin were each held on $100,000 cash-only bonds.
The St. Louis County Police Department’s North County Precinct continues to investigate the case.
The injured officer received hospital treatment following the attack. The extent of his injuries has not been disclosed.
The QuikTrip location where the assault occurred sits in a busy commercial corridor of north St. Louis County, a region that has seen increased security presence at retail establishments in recent years.
