Columbus woman says deputy threatened to arrest her for breastfeeding

A 21-year-old Columbus mother filed a complaint with the Muscogee County Sheriff’s Office stating that a deputy threatened to arrest her Sept. 25 for breastfeeding at a local Piggly Wiggly without a coverup.

Savannah Shukla, her sister and her two children visited the 1359 13th St. store around 8:30 that night. She was breastfeeding her 1-month-old child when she said deputy Raymond Zipata approached her and reportedly told her to cover up because someone might get offended.

“After staring at him in disbelief I told him that Georgia state law says I can breastfeed wherever I am authorized to be and that I can breastfeed without a cover,” the mother stated in the formal complaint released Friday afternoon.

She said the deputy grew flustered and told her, “No ma’am. That’s not the case.” She responded by reiterating that she had not done anything illegal, according to the report.

That’s when, she said, Zipata grew more stern.

“You think you know what the law says,” she quoted him as saying. “And if your nipple becomes exposed, I really don’t want to have to arrest you or you be arrested in the future for being offensive. This isn’t like the first amendment where you can say something offensive.”

The mother said she repeated the law and told him that there was “something wrong” with anyone who found her breastfeeding offensive.

According to her account of the incident, Zipata pointed out that he could see her areola and said he really didn’t want her to get arrested for exposing her nipple.

“For deputy Zipata to have seen my areola means he would’ve had to be staring very intently at the breast my 1-month-old was nursing on,” she stated in the complaint.

Shukla said the incident embarrassed her.

“Finally after the confrontation and embarrassment, I began to walk away telling deputy Zipata to have a good night and that I am aware of my rights,” she wrote.

Muscogee County Sheriff John Darr said the deputy told him he was working part time at the store when customers complained about Shukla breastfeeding. He said he approached her in the checkout-line and asked if she had something she could use to cover up.

“She got offended by that. He said he knew her rights and he didn’t say anything else to her,” said Darr, who confirmed that Georgia law allows a mother to breastfeed a baby in any location where the mother and baby are authorized to be.

The sheriff made a public apology to the woman via Facebook the day after the incident, stating that he understands and appreciates a woman’s right to feed a child wherever she is most comfortable.

After she filed a formal complaint against the deputy that same day, Darr took to Facebook to confirm that the incident was under investigation and the appropriate action would be determined at its conclusion.

“However, regardless of the outcome, we would like to ensure that a situation like this does not happen again in the future,” he stated in the post. “We have sent out a reminder to all of our deputies that in accordance with Georgia law a woman has the legal right to breastfeed whenever she needs to, without having to cover up. Additional training will follow.”

A reporter with the Ledger-Enquirer visited the Muscogee County Sheriff’s Office multiple times between Sept. 27 and Sept. 29 to request a copy of the woman’s formal complaint. Each time, an official with the office declined and stated that no one could be reached to approve its release.

On Sept. 29, the Ledger-Enquirer submitted an open records request to the sheriff’s office for the document and received a response on Oct. 5.

In a letter dated Sept. 30, open records custodian Cpl. Lisa Williams said the information was not subject to “dissemination until the investiagtion is concluded, which may also included prosecutorial actions and the appeals process.”

When the reporter revisited the sheriff’s office Friday afternoon to request a copy of the complaint again, Capt. Chuck Pickett released it.

Attempts to reach Darr Friday afternoon for his response to the woman’s account of the incident as well as an update on the investigation were unsuccessful.

This story was originally published October 14, 2016 at 4:10 PM with the headline "Columbus woman says deputy threatened to arrest her for breastfeeding."