Staten Island deli worker maces a woman he thinks is trans

Brooke Tindall 11 October 2023

A Staten Island deli worker physically assaulted Jasmine Adams after mistaking her for a trans woman.

35-year-old Jasmine filed a lawsuit against the deli after the business refused to identify the now-former employee who attacked her.

Jasmine Adams went to the Staten Island deli to buy marijuana for a friend. The bisexual cisgender woman’s Apple watch wristband featured Pride rainbow colours.

She says when she asked the cashier a question about the product she intended to purchase, he became angry. After he threw the marijuana on the floor, she asked for her money back. Then man then threatened to call the police which Jasmine encouraged him to do.

“I said, ‘Call the cops! I just want my money back.’ Then I heard him call me a transvestite. I’m like, ‘Transvestite? I’m a whole female. I have lady parts’.”

Physical assault

The cashier then maced Jasmine and dragged her out of the store, calling her a ‘bitch’. Bystanders outside the Staten Island deli recorded the attack.

Jasmine Adams left the area of the deli, fearing for her safety. However, when she later returned and called 911, she waited four hours before police showed up. The attending officers acted as though they knew the cashier, referring to him as ‘Mr Fourth of July’. However, they have not officially identified the suspect. The deli claims to have fired the worker but refuses to identify him to the police.

The lawsuit filed by Jasmine Adams alleges discrimination on the basis of perceived gender identity.

“Even if I was a transvestite, what does that have to do with anything?” she says. “Why were you so comfortable putting your hands on me? I wasn’t being aggressive.”