Woman handcuffed for G-string bikini may 'take action'
The woman at the centre of the shocking bikini beach arrest video has spoken out about the incident slamming police for being ‘way too aggressive’ and saying she is considering taking action.
Samantha Panda is an international acrobat, dancer, aerialist and contortionist. She went viral this week after a video of her being detained in handcuffs by US police over her G-string bikini bottom was shared to Facebook.
The performer says she was enjoying a sunny day at Myrtle Beach in South Carolina in the US with her sister Kendyl Leigh and her partner when she was approached by police following a complaint over her G-string bikini called in by a woman nearby.
Samantha says police came across ‘way too aggressively’
Samantha tells Yahoo Lifestyle she had no idea anyone had even taken issue with her swimsuit until the police arrived, and that she may consider action though she’s not made any decision yet.
“Initially they approached and aggressively asked us what the problem was,” she says. “We told them that we didn't have a problem because we didn't call them, and after that they proceeded to tell us that we were not allowed to wear what we were wearing on the beach.”
Following the initial confrontation, Samantha says she asked to see the law prohibiting G-string bottoms and the officer refused.
“When he refused to tell me the law, I told them that we were done there and that we would leave, and I turned to get my towel and at that moment the officer grabbed me very forcefully and both him and his partner wrestled me into cuffs,” she says.
She says while she acknowledges they had to respond to the initial complaint, their handling of the situation left her seriously disappointed.
“I think they came over way too aggressively and I believe they should have sent a female officer,” she says.
Samantha ‘looking into taking action’ over the incident
After 20 minutes the trio was allowed to leave with no further incident, though Samantha says they are now contemplating taking action over the incident which was all over a swimsuit she says she has worn on the same beach plenty of times before without incident.
“I wore the exact same bikini to the exact same beach the day before the incident,” she says. “We are looking into taking action, but haven't made any real decisions yet.”
The woman who called the thong in was slammed by Samantha in the initial Facebook post that has since gone viral. Now she says the woman never even approached the trio before phoning the cops and was escorted away once they arrived.
“I never got the opportunity to confront the woman,“ she says. “She got a police escort to her car because she was afraid of me.”
Samantha has since spoken further on the incident in a YouTube video with Kendyl Leigh, and shared a post to Instagram addressing some of the fallout of her viral moment.
Police told Fox News following the video blowing up online that the report initially made stated two women in see-through tops and string bikini bottoms were “dancing and soliciting videos on the beach” and that Sam was detained after she started to walk away while the police issued a warning.
Controversial law bans ‘buttocks’ on public display
The popular holiday destination famously has laws in place against the exposure of specific anatomy including the ‘buttocks’.
“It shall be unlawful for any person to intentionally appear in any public place in such a state of dress or undress so as to expose to the view of others the human male or female genitals, pubic area, pubic hair, buttocks, anus, vulva or any portion of the female breast at or below the areola thereof,” the full ordinance states.
The video shared on Monday, August 3 has been shared by thousands and attracted hundreds of comments, most slamming the entire incident as ‘sad’.
“She's wearing a bikini on the beach,” one man pointed out. “How is this a police matter?”
“This is unreal!” another wrote. “I see so many young women on the beaches with thongs. I cannot believe someone called the police and “wasted police resources” for a thong bikini.”
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