- Toria Townsend haphazardly tossed her "work wig" into her car trunk en route to a hair appointment.
- A concerned citizen phoned a non-emergency line, whereupon police promptly arrived at her door.
Video footage of a police visit captured on an Ohio woman's Ring camera has gone viral after a concerned citizen spotted strands of hair hanging out of her car trunk. It turned out to be a wig.
The video from June 16 has accrued 71,000 views on the woman's own TikTok account, but subsequent reposts of it, like from accounts @realjimmyhendrixx and @itsgoneviral, have received upwards of 10 million impressions.
Toria Townsend, a 30-year-old college student who works with adults with developmental disabilities, told Insider she was en route to a hair appointment to get knotless braids earlier this month on an "extremely hectic" day.
"I was late to my hair appointment," she said. "I just threw my wig off and threw it in my trunk, not even paying attention or realizing where my wig landed."
On the 45-minute drive home, she was similarly clueless, she recalled, even after a quick stop at Dairy Queen where she noticed a few odd glances from passersby.
@classy_melita #rvp #wig #hilarous #icantmakethisup #police #policeoftiktok #embarrassing #blowthisup ♬ original sound - Classy Melita
"I was wondering why people were mugging me at the light," Townsend said. "And I'm thinking to myself, like, 'Somebody must've woken up on the wrong side of the bed. Why is everyone staring at me?'"
Less than 10 minutes after arriving home, there was a ring at the doorbell, and Townsend was greeted by police officers and a barking dog – which made her "extremely nervous," she said.
As captured in the Ring footage, one officer, who Townsend described as "really nice," alerted her of the hair in her trunk, whereupon she exclaimed, "Oh my Jesus! That's my weave!" The officers laughed as Townsend rushed inside to fetch her keys.
Townsend later learned that a concerned driver had called in her license plate number. She shared the call on TikTok, but declined to disclose how it was obtained. She's simply relieved to know that people are out looking for our public safety.
"It's no hard feelings," Townsend said. "I'm glad that she called because it shows the community is concerned."
@classy_melita thank you to the great officers who were calm about the situation.. we NEED MORE OFFICERS LIKE YOU!
♬ original sound - Classy Melita
After the incident, Townsend said she's learned to be more cautious when storing her 10 wigs. She admitted she's prone to absent-mindedly tossing them onto a carseat if she's hot, for instance, or having a bout of anxiety.
She added that she's happy the video has gone viral because it shows a lighthearted and positive interaction between a police officer and a person of color.
Commenters also seemed to appreciate this hilarious and pleasant exchange between them.
"He tried his best not to laugh," one top comment said; "He had a pretty good calm energy from the get-go...I like that," added another.
"You really don't see a lot of officers and a person of color interact so well," Townsend told Insider. "Now someone who's a person of color and an officer getting along and [having] happy laughter all because of wig — that's a good thing."