Pastor caught shoving elderly woman down steps of LA church

A cohort of Beulah Land Missionary Baptist Church members gathered Sunday outside their church to call for the dismissal of a pastor accused of brazenly pushing a woman to the ground and down a set of cement steps.

Pastor Lorenz Roseman of the Baptist church located in Gardena in LA’s South Bay was captured on video surveillance late last year shoving an elderly woman through a metal gate and to the ground while she stood at the doors of the church.

After just two days in custody on a promise to return to court, he has since returned to the pulpit, asserting that a majority of his congregants voted during a business meeting to allow him to stay on as church leader, KTLA reported.

“The whole unfortunate event began when I was informed that certain influential members, who held positions of power, might be engaged in unethical or illegal activities. After conducting an investigation and confirming the allegations, I removed them from their positions,” Roseman said in a statement when asked about the case against him.

“When these individuals could not oust me through our church policies and procedures, they began to attack my character and weaponize the legal system against me. However, judges have dismissed these suits as frivolous and lacking standing,” the pastor added.

For congregants like Dr. Ta-Taneisha Thames, the pastor’s explanation is not enough.

“He does not get to put his hands on anyone,” she told KTLA. “That is not okay. He has to go.”

The woman he pushed, Elise McTaw, claims her wrist and toes were fractured from the fall.

“This is what the pastor did,” Najee Ali, a community activist with Project Islamic Hope, said while pointing to a brace worn by the pastor’s alleged victim. “That’s why the members of the church are asking him to step down.”

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