Woman arrested after viral video shows customer being restrained in Longford shop

In the short clip a woman, who is clearly in a distressed state, is restrained by an older man while bystanders watch.

The woman writhes on the ground as she attempts to escape the grip of the man who has her wrist bent behind her back.

“You’re hurting me,” she says at one point. “You're breaking my wrist.

“I am begging you”, and she then starts screaming as the man applies pressure.

In the background another man’s voice can be heard repeating, “calm down, calm down.”

A voice then says: “You cannot have this lad working here, like,” as the man who is now standing on the woman’s hair glances at the camera.

Another voice says, “don’t get involved,” while someone else says, “you get the guards.”

“I wouldn’t spend my money, to be honest with you,” the first man says, apparently objecting. “There’s ways to do things, like.”

The woman at this point is saying: “Oh my god, I can’t believe you just did that.”

An employee answering the phone at the shopping centre said that neither the manager nor the owner of the store was available to comment, adding that the matter had been reported to the gardaí.

A Garda spokesperson said gardaí in Longford are investigating an alleged theft incident that occurred on Tuesday, June 14.

“The suspect, a female in her 30s, was arrested by gardaí and conveyed to Longford Garda Station,” a Garda spokesperson said.

“She has since been charged and appeared before Athlone District Court. Investigations are ongoing.”