Security Guards Slam A Customer To The Ground

When heavy-handed security officers falsely accused an innocent John Lewis customer of shoplifting, the victim was forcibly thrown to the pavement.

Stunning footage captured on Above Bar Street, Southampton, reveals the moment spectators say ‘could have killed’ the victim as he was tossed to the concrete after being wrestled from behind.

Eyewitnesses said the man, thought to be in his 60s and sporting a blue t-shirt, had been followed by guards after leaving the nearby John Lewis.

Employees had demanded to peek inside his bag after accusing him of stealing something from the upscale retail shop.

The conflict came to a head in the video captured by one eyewitness, where a member of staff tells the man: ‘We’ve got confirmation you’ve taken an item from us without paying for it.’

Two security officers come up behind the victim to demand identification, and one of them yanks and wrestles him to the ground in front of the shocked witnesses.

As the altercation exploded, one of the guards can be heard shouting in the man’s ear: ‘Behave yourself, right now! Right now!’

But in an embarrassing turn for the hot-headed security and staff, a search of the victim’s bag revealed he had not taken anything from the store.

The man was shaken by the experience, which took place in broad daylight on the crowded retail street, even though he was promptly released with everyone’s apologies.

Minutes after the victim left the area, the member of staff who could be seen in the video wearing all black, also bizarrely fainted on the street.

While out for coffee in the city centre, local farmer Thomas Oswald took the startling video and expressed his outrage at the man’s treatment.

He said, ‘The poor victim’s head was just a few inches from hitting a curb. It would have killed him. 

‘If he’d hit the corner of the curb that hard, it would have killed him or given him serious brain damage.

‘I didn’t know if I should call the police, but I could tell the way the man was being treated wasn’t right.’

Supporting the victim for asking to see staff ID while he was being questioned, Mr Oswald said: ‘If you’d had your bag taken off of you and accused of stealing in public, you’d be pretty annoyed.

‘They could have sat the man down and dealt with the incident calmly, but instead they slammed him to the ground.

‘I think it’s probably fairly common if you see what happens nowadays.

‘If they saw him stealing, why not talk to him in the shop? Why get him out on the high street and slam him down there?’

Addressing the fainting member of staff, he speculated: ‘I have no idea about the manager fainting. He could have just realised he made an awful, terrible mistake.’

Both Go! Southampton, the company the security guards belong to, and John Lewis have said they are investigating the incident.

A spokesperson for John Lewis said: ‘We were very concerned to see this video, and are urgently investigating this matter.’

A spokesperson from Go! Southampton added: ‘We are aware of the incident, which we are taking very seriously.

‘Our service partner Argenbright Security Europe Limited are currently conducting a thorough investigation into the event.’

The victim should have had them arrested for assault, and he should be suing them, along with John Lewis.

I personally wouldn’t want to shop in John Lewis anymore, and hopefully, after this debacle, they won’t be enticing very many customers, particularly if they have security guards wandering about like a loose cannon.