Nail salon dispute gains social media attention
COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) – An altercation at a Columbus nail shop has gotten more than 58,000 views on Facebook.
KChristen Whitfield said she went live New Year’s Eve because she felt threatened.
Three minutes into the video, Whitfield said the confrontation got physical.
Shortly after, Whitfield called 911 for Columbus Police.
“I would’ve left, but most of the time, if you walk out of somewhere and you haven’t paid for a service, they would notify the authorities. So, I decided to escalate the situation and notify the authorities on my own,” said Whitfield.
Moments before, Whitfield said the nail tech was not doing her nails correctly.
I spoke with some of the shop owners, and they said they told Whitfield they were unable to perform the design of nails Whitfield wanted.
However, Whitfield said in the past, the nail tech has reasoned with her and found a design she was capable of and both were satisfied with.
“I never told her I was never going to pay for it… I told her you can take the French tips off. We can just do the pink base. ‘You can do clear coat. We can do a clear coat.'”
And right before the altercation escalated, Whitfield told customers to go to a different nail salon.
“It hurts my business, and it hurts me too,” said the nail shop owner.
Lowndes County Sheriff Eddie Hawkins said there are different levels to an assault.
“You have different types of assault, simple and aggravated. Simple assault can be as little as somebody slapping somebody or punching someone where it doesn’t cause any physical damage,” said Hawkins.
If someone is convicted of simple assault, he said the sentence can be up to six months in jail or up to a $500 fine.
The nail tech was not arrested the day of the incident.
“In order for law enforcement to effect an arrest, it has to happen in our presence. However, what we can do is let the victim know their rights and they can go privately sign an affidavit against the individual and press charges themselves,” said Hawkins.
However, he said officers have a choice when there is video evidence, but in most cases, they encourage the victims to sign an affidavit.
Whitfield said she plans to press charges.
Whitfield’s nails were never paid for at the shop, but she completed her services with a different business.
“The police officers didn’t ask me to pay. I actually ended up finding a different nail tech and went to go get my nails finished and repaired,” said Whitfield.
The nail salon owners said they would still like Whitfield to pay for the work their nail tech performed.
“She still owes me money,” said the nail shop owner.
After requesting an ambulance, Whitfield was taken to the hospital, but no injuries were reported.
