Photos of man pulling child's hair prompt investigation

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Authorities in Southeast Texas are investigating a series of viral photos that show a man pulling a 5-year-old girl by her hair while shopping at a Walmart.

Erika Burch says she was shopping at the Walmart in Cleveland, Texas, Monday night when she noticed a girl crying and begging a man to let go of her hair. She says the girl was saying, “Please stop! I promise I won’t do it again.”

Burch says she asked the man to stop pulling the girl’s hair but was told to mind her own business. She confronted the man several times more and eventually screamed at the man to stop pulling the girl’s hair.

Burch says she called police and were already in the store. She says a sergeant told her the man couldn’t be arrested because the girl didn’t have any physical bruises or missing hair.

Burch says the Cleveland Police Sergeant told her, “He has the right to discipline his children.”

Burch posted the images on her Facebook hoping something would be done and got thousands of shares.

The Cleveland Police Department posted a short statement on their Facebook Tuesday afternoon. They said in part, "We want to assure the community this case is currently being investigated by our Detective Division. CPS has been contacted per our policy and is also investigating this case. A joint investigation is currently being conducted by both agencies.”