A 62-year-old man in the United States has been arrested for allegedly smacking a stranger's child three times at a supermarket.

Juan Guvarra Martinez was charged with battery, obstruction of officers and disorderly conduct at the Korger supermarket in Newnan, Georgia. Police were called to the scene by the child's father, Logan Morris.

According to 11 Alive, the two-year-old boy was asking his father for a lolly. Morris said: "I told him, 'no, it's too late bud'." It was then that Martinez allegedly grabbed the boy by his hand, turned him around and smacked him three times.

"That's how we deal with kids in Mexico," Martinez said according to Morris. "We're not in Mexico," Morris replied.

"I didn't know what to think. I was blown away by the situation."

Police arrived at the supermarket and put Martinez in handcuffs. The report stated that Martinez's eyes were bloodshot and that he had a "strong odour of an alcoholic beverage coming from his person". They also reported that his speech was slurred.

Martinez strongly resisted being put in the police car and was kicking the doors and windows. By the time police arrived at Coweta County Jail, Martinez had stopped responding. An ambulance crew was eventually called. Once cleared by the Newnan Piedmont Hospital Emergency Room, he was taken back to the county Jail.

The boy's grandmother, Michelle Lott, said she was pleased with Morris' reaction. "I didn't want to start something and have him get hurt in the process," Lott said, according to 11 Alive. "I wanted him out of the store, my son."