Crime & Safety

Woman, 71, Attacked Pregnant Soldier, Son Used Slurs: Cops

WATCH: The incident happened at a Cheddar's restaurant in Macon, Georgia, and started over a parking spot, police say.

MACON, GA — A 71-year-old Georgia woman has been arrested after police say she attacked a pregnant U.S. Army soldier at a restaurant after a racially charged argument over a parking space escalated. The attack came after the woman's son allegedly called the victim and another soldier "black lesbian b----es."

Judy Tucker has been charged with one count of battery after she lunged at Treasure Sharpe, 27, and Stephanie Mitchell, 34, at a Cheddar's restaurant in Macon, Georgia, on Saturday.

The incident was captured in multiple videos that have gone viral on social media.

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In one video, Tucker can be heard complaining that the soldiers "were getting in our way while we tried to park." Mitchell told police that, before cameras were turned on, Tucker's son called them the insulting term.

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The video shows Tucker shoving the two women — both of whom are wearing camouflage Army fatigues — and her and her son both trying to snatch away a cellphone they were using to record the incident. One of the women can be heard saying "Ma'am? Ma'am?" repeatedly as Tucker shoves and slaps at them, then Sharpe can be heard saying, "I'm pregnant!"

"By her?" Tucker's son responds, pointing to Mitchell. Tucker responds saying "Well, my husband is handicapped."

According to a Bibb County Sheriff's Office incident report, Tucker was the "primary aggressor" and "lunged and struck Mrs. Sharpe in the face." The report says that Tucker told deputies "multiple times" that the disagreement was "because she was white and it was a race issue."

"With all of the lunging and slapping happening, it was never shown through cell phone video that Mrs. Mitchell or Mrs. Sharpe did anything wrong," the report says. "In fact, Mrs. Mitchell tried, without fail, to stop the attack on Mrs. Sharpe.”

According to the report, Sharpe is from Powder Springs, Georgia, and Mitchell is from Palmetto, just southwest of Atlanta. Tucker's son and daughter, who was also with them, are not named in the sheriff's report. The son also called the soldiers "dumb b----es" for getting in the way of a parking spot, the report said.

Tucker was taken to Bibb County Jail, where she was booked and bonded out. Macon is in middle Georgia, about 80 miles southeast of Atlanta.

In a written statement, a spokeswoman for Cheddar's restaurants said the company is "appalled by the behavior of the individuals who confronted the two female service members" and that "such behavior flies in the face of our values and those individuals are no longer welcome in our restaurant."

Mercer University in Macon, where Tucker had taught some courses, said she is not currently employed by the school and "will not be teaching at Mercer in the future."

Watch a video of part of the incident below:


Photo via YouTube

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