ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — A woman captured on a Ring camera in May slapping a child after he dropped a case of bottled water has been arrested, the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office announced Thursday.
The woman, identified as Kia Lowery, 36, was an Instacart employee and was making a delivery during the May 31 incident. Instacart told Action News Jax she was permanently banned by the company.
Action News Jax’s Deja Mayfield reported on the video earlier this month.
Read: St. Augustine Instacart shopper banned after child slapped on camera; DCF, SJSO investigate
The footage was recorded outside a St. Augustine apartment on Alta Street and shared online by the man who lives there.
“Deputies analyzed the video and identified the Instacart employee as Kiah Lowery and the victim as her child,” St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office stated in a social media post Thursday morning.
“Based on the investigation conducted by the SJSO Special Victims Unit, ... Lowery was arrested and transported to the St. Johns County Jail,” the post states.
Lowery is facing a charge of child abuse without great bodily harm, according to a St. Johns County arrest warrant. When she’s released from jail, Lowery is ordered to have no contact with the child, the sheriff’s office said.
Lowery is seen in the video placing a case of bottled water in the boy’s arms. According to the sheriff’s office, he’s 6-years-old.
The child struggles with the weight of the water and drops it causing water to spill on the floor.
Lowery then runs after the child and slaps his face with the sound of the blow echoing through the hallway of the apartment complex.
The child cries as Lowery yells profanities at him saying, “You’re the worst. The f’ing worst.” she says.
Action News Jax reached out to Instacart days after the incident and the company responded with the following statement:
“The behavior captured in this video is alarming and completely unacceptable. We have zero tolerance for violence of any kind, and the shopper has been permanently removed from the platform. Instacart maintains strict policies prohibiting shoppers from bringing any individual without a valid shopper account on a delivery, including children. We take situations like this extremely seriously and will fully cooperate with law enforcement and the relevant authorities as they conduct their investigation. - Instacart
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