Man charged with child cruelty after spanking two-year-old he didn't know

A man has been arrested for spanking a two-year-old he didn't know in a US supermarket.

James Morris said Juan Martinez slapped his son's hand and bottom after he politely asked twice for a candy bar at a Kroger Supermarket in Georgia.

"This is what we do to kids in Mexico," he reportedly told Morris after the assault.

The Georgia father claimed Martinez – who smelled of alcohol - then offered to buy his son candy, but he declined.

"My motivation at that time was to just get my family safely to the car,” Morris told Fox5.

While the child was not harmed, his grandmother said the incident was terrifying.

"I was shocked. I was scared. Of course, I was angry and defensive," grandmother Michelle Lott told WYFF4. 

Martinez was arrested after a two-minute scuffle with police.

He was charged with multiple offences, including simple battery, child cruelty, disorderly conduct and obstructing officers.