Dollarama security guard charged after beating caught on camera

A security guard has been charged with assault, Toronto police say, after he was recorded on video beating a man in a downtown Dollarama store.

The incident happened on Tuesday afternoon at 149 Sherbourne St., near Queen Street E.

In a 17-second video, recorded by witness Ricky Gamez, a man wearing a security guard vest is seen yelling and repeatedly punching another man, who is on the floor of the store's entrance.

Gamez told CBC News he works at a nearby shelter. He entered the store around 3 p.m. with a coworker, he said, and heard a man telling the security guard he had spilled coffee in his bag, which was leaking. 

The man asked the guard if he could take the bag inside the store or leave it in the entrance, Gamez said, and the guard told him to leave it on the street.

After repeating his request and being given the same answer, the man decided to walk into the store anyway, Gamez said, and the security guard then grabbed him by the shirt and tried to drag him out, ripping the man's shirt.

As they got into a struggle, the man spit on the guard, Gamez said.

"Once he did that, the security guard started to become crazy," he said. "He started to punch his face and drag him out of the place."

When they reached the entrance — a small vestibule with two doors to enter and exit — Gamez said the guard grabbed the man by the neck, threw him against the wall and punched him six times.

The man fell to the floor, at which point the guard kicked his head six times, stepped on him and slapped him, Gamez said.

Gamez said he tried to open the door to the entrance closest to him to help the man, but it could only be opened from the inside. He started filming but soon stopped to access the vestibule through the other door.

"This guy is going to kill this poor guy," Gamez said he remembers thinking before he stopped recording. 

Once he got inside the vestibule, Gamez said the man started to "wake up" and ran out of the store, so Gamez chased him.

"I was like, 'no he's not okay, and after what had happened, he can't be okay,'" he said.

Man had limited memory of assault, witness says

Once Gamez caught up with the victim, he said it looked like the man was in shock.

"I told him to take a seat, to take five minutes to realize what had just happened, and to breathe," Gamez said. "After that, he started to cry." 

Gamez said the man was dizzy, bleeding from his nose and had scratches on both arms. He didn't know where he was or what had happened, Gamez said.  

After about 20 minutes, the man agreed to call police and an ambulance. When officers arrived, they told Gamez they had gone to look for the security guard but he had left the store. He was later apprehended.

Gamez said he told police he would be open to testifying in court if needed. The security guard is scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 9, police said.

Lyla Radmanovich, a spokesperson for Dollarama, said the retail chain had put the third-party security firm involved in the incident "on notice" while investigating why protocol wasn't followed. 

"Dollarama does not authorize the use of force in any situation," Radmanovich said in a statement sent to CBC Toronto Wednesday. 

Dollarama could be liable, personal injury lawyer says

Personal injury lawyer Jasmine Daya said the guard, the security company and Dollarama could be liable for any injuries.

"It's important for stores to recognize that you can't just pass the buck off to someone else and say, 'Oh, we hired a company, we did what we needed to do,'" she said. "You want to make sure that what happens in a situation is in line with what the store's belief system is." 

Daya said she would consider it excessive force if the guard assaulted the man because he was spat on. 

"This is someone in the course of their employment, and they must follow the rules and responsibilities that come with that," she said.