Pregnant woman who says she was thrown on stomach by mall security wants guards fired

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    WAUWATOSA, WI (WDJT) — Octavia Stitts was emotional as she talked about what she says happened to her daughter and then to her, at Mayfair Mall Saturday.
“She was just going to the mall for her birthday,” Stitts said about her 15-year-old daughter.

“Saturday night my daughter had got jumped by a mob of children at the mall,” she said. “I was at home, I got a phone call that she had got jumped, so I got to the mall as fast as I can.”

She said the mall was clear at that time, and she went to ask security where her daughter was.

“They showed me where my daughter was, and they attacked me because I asked them why was my daughter being handcuffed. And they said she was fighting, and I said I got a phone call, were they aware she was the victim.”

She said they threw her on her stomach.

Pregnant with a baby boy due the first week of November, she said she was monitored at the hospital after the incident.

“They took me to the hospital, I was having contractions, they was two minutes apart,” Stitts said.

Attorney Thomas Napierala was with Stitts when she spoke with reporters Thursday. He said right now they don’t plan on filing a lawsuit, they just want answers.

“I’m sure if you’ve got grandchildren or children or really any family members, you like to go to the malls and like to enjoy, and you want to find out what happened here. Why was a situation that seems to me, there’s a couple flaws — there was a mob of kids attacking shoppers, and then after that occurred, and then you had the security guard incident where an innocent pregnant woman was thrown to the ground by the people she had entrusted to care for her child and make sure the mall was safe for her,” said Napierala.

Stitts said she wants the security guards fired. Community Activist Tory Lowe, who was with Stitts, said he believes the security guards should be charged.

Wauwatosa Police are investigating all of the events that unfolded at the mall Saturday. Captain Brian Zalewski said they are still reviewing video, and one of the officers still has people to speak with. Once they have all the information, he says they will review it internally, and if they feel the need to, would have the district attorney’s office look at the case as a whole, including the interaction between security and Stitts.

In response to questions about what happened to Stitts, a spokesperson for Mayfair Mall said:

“There is nothing more important than providing our community with a peaceful, secure, inclusive shopping environment. We want to emphasize that Mayfair Mall’s Code of Conduct applies to everyone, and is a measure to help ensure safety. The following is a statement from our security vendor, Andy Frain Services: ‘This is a police investigation led by the Wauwatosa Police Department, and all inquiries need to be directed to them. However, we can confirm that the individuals involved were disruptive, uncooperative and became physically assaultive towards our security officers.'”

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