Sam Panda was detained by police after attempting to walk away from officers who were called to the popular beach to tell her she was in breach of local laws. Photo / Sam Panda
Sam Panda was detained by police after attempting to walk away from officers who were called to the popular beach to tell her she was in breach of local laws. Photo / Sam Panda
A woman in the US has been handcuffed and detained at a beach for wearing a G-string bikini in breach of local laws.
Sam Panda, an acrobat who made headlines in 2017 for breaking her neck in a horror performing accident in Bali, shared video on Facebook of being "rushed, aggressively grabbed, manhandled, and cuffed" by police at Myrtle Beach in South Carolina on Sunday.
Panda wrote on Facebook that a woman had called the police on her for wearing a skimpy two-piece at the popular swimming spot.
"Some Karen decided that my body was offensive to her and showed her child that her body could one day lead to her arrest," she wrote.
Sam Panda was detained by police after attempting to walk away from officers who were called to the popular beach to tell her she was in breach of local laws. Photo / Sam Panda
Myrtle Beach's local government has laws in place banning public nudity, with one ordinance stating it is illegal to wear any clothing that exposes "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".
Police arrived at the beach after receiving report of a two women wearing a "see-through top" and G-string bikinis who were "dancing and soliciting videos on the beach", Fox 8 reports.
According to Myrtle Beach authorities, police officers spoke to both women about the ordinances on nudity.
"One of the women attempted to walk away from officers and was detained," police said in a statement.
Video posted by Panda showed her being handcuffed, with a police officer confirming she was being detained "because of the way she was acting".
Police had received a call that two women were "dancing and soliciting videos on the beach". Photo / Sam Panda
Panda continues to question why she is breaking the law, with police explaining that it is because her G-string bikini breaches the beach's laws on nudity.
"You put me in handcuffs for being in a thong?" she exclaimed.
Neither Panda nor her female companion were charged over the incident.
On Facebook Panda called for people to "#cancelMyrtleBeach" and said that the woman who notified police "should be absolutely ashamed of yourself".
"You allowed two women to be slut-shamed publicly on a beach for their bathing suits," she wrote.
"And worst of all, you showed your daughter that her body is something she should be ashamed of and could be detained for.
"You showed her that a man can harm a woman over the way her body is viewed by other people. You have objectified a female body that does not belong to you and have showed your daughter that those actions are acceptable."
Panda's posts attracted hundreds of comments with the video of her being detained viewed more than 244,000 times.
"I just can't, this is ridiculous," one person commented, while another added: "Glad to know we're still policing women's bodies in 2020. This is some sad s**t."
Others were concerned that the two police officers hadn't social distanced, with Panda explaining in the comments that she usually wore a mask but had gone without because she was at the beach.
"The nurse in me is screaming … where are their masks in the midst of a global pandemic?! Sorry you dealt with this absurdity," one person wrote.
