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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsBlack Man Brutalized by Security Guard at Whole Foods for Trying to Buy Food
A black man was beaten to a bloody pulp by a security guard at an Oakland Whole Foods Thursday night after an attempt to purchase groceries led to an argument.
An eye witness to the attack, Zoe Marks, on visit from Edinburgh, Scotland where she lectures at the University of Edinburgh, gave an eyewitness account of the assault on her Facebook, posting graphic images of the victim. She told the Oakland Tribune that she saw the argument between the cashier and the victim as he was trying to use an EBT card (a food stamp card that works like a debit card), but said that the victim wasnt shouting, nor was her violent or disruptive. In fact, Marks said the man wasnt a threat to anyone and that she felt safe until the armed security guard came and attacked him.
In a Facebook status Marks described the violent assault, saying the guard slammed the victim against concrete pillars. He also allegedly put the man in a chokehold and suffocated him before throwing him on the ground unconscious. Then the guard reportedly locked the man out of the store despite the fact that he was unconscious.
She said none of the employees called the paramedics, instead they called for backup.
the security guard has been "permanently removed from Whole Foods Market."
http://news.yahoo.com/black-man-brutalized-security-guard-225842280.html
Downwinder
(12,869 posts)Suich
(10,642 posts)Hopefully the victim can sue Whole Foods and the security (?) guard for his medical bills and pain and suffering.
With all the cell phones around, there's no excuse for not calling the paramedics.
So glad there was a very reliable witness!
damnedifIknow
(3,183 posts)who will have a story to tell when she returns to Scotland and not a very flattering story.
KT2000
(20,544 posts)Whole Foods thinks it is enough to fire him? That young man can file charges against him and I hope he sues the shit out of Whole Foods and their Ayn Loving CEO.
Spitfire of ATJ
(32,723 posts)Obviously, some of them become security guards.
Milliesmom
(493 posts)SHRED
(28,136 posts)I thought they just stole from us.
MineralMan
(146,192 posts)Maybe they should change their name so everyone will know who's welcome and who's not.
linuxman
(2,337 posts)And being black? In Oakland?
I doubt that very much.
Comments by others stating they were there at the time state that there was a physical altercation initiated over being unable to buy certain item with the card, leading to the victim spitting into the guards face. A fight began, and the guard went way overboard (and should probably lose his job).
Or the guard just decided to commit felony assault, because hey, it's friday!
I'll wait for the other shoe to drop. Right now it looks like a case of "when assholes collide".