Bernard Kersh, Man Seen Getting Body-Slammed By Police Officer, Now Charged With Shoplifting And Shoving Security Guard
CHICAGO (CBS) -- New trouble has come for a man who was seen on video that went viral getting body-slammed by a Chicago Police officer this past Thanksgiving Day.
Bernard Kersh is accused of shoplifting from a South Loop store and shoving a female security who tried to stop him.
On Thursday of last week around 10:05 a.m., police said Kersh walked into a retail store in the 1200 block of South Wabash Avenue, took some merchandise, and tried to leave without paying.
A 22-year-old woman working as a security guard tried to stop Kersh from leaving, but Kersh shoved her in the chest and fled, police alleged. The security guard declined medical treatment.
Officers toured the area and located Kersh, police said. He was arrested at 10:37 a.m., police said. He was charged with aggravated battery to a merchant and felony retail theft.
Kersh's last run-in with police was captured on a viral cellphone video on Thursday, Nov. 28.
An officer is seen slamming Kersh to the pavement during an arrest at 79th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue.
The video shows Kersh's head slamming against the curb, and he doesn't move for the rest of the 40-second video.
Police said officers stopped Kersh to give him a ticket when they saw him drinking alcohol in plain view at a bus stop. That's when they said he resisted arrest, and spat at and licked an officer's face.
The Police Department called the incident an "emergency takedown."
In that incident, Kersh was charged with one felony count of aggravated battery, one misdemeanor account of resisting police and one misdemeanor count of simple assault. He was also cited for drinking alcohol in public.
Kersh's family's attorney has said Kersh suffers from mental health issues, including schizophrenia.
CBS 2 Investigators also later exposed that the officer who performed the body slam, Jerald Williams, is an MMA fighter.
Williams and a second officer remained stripped of their police powers as of Monday.
