Dollarama security guard charged after beating caught on camera

Security Guard Charged with Assault After Incident at Downtown Dollarama

Toronto police have charged a security guard with assault following a video recording of him beating a man in a Dollarama store located at 149 Sherbourne St., near Queen Street E., on Tuesday afternoon.

The 17-second video, captured by witness Ricky Gamez, shows a man in a security guard vest yelling and repeatedly punching another man who is lying on the floor at the entrance of the store.

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

According to Gamez, the man asked the guard if he could take the bag inside or leave it at the entrance, but the guard insisted he leave it on the street. After making the request again and receiving the same response, the man decided to enter the store anyway. The guard then grabbed him by the shirt and attempted to drag him out, tearing the man’s shirt in the process.

During the struggle, the man spat on the guard, prompting a furious response. "Once he did that, the security guard started to become crazy," Gamez recounted. "He started to punch his face and drag him out of the place."

As they reached the entrance, a small vestibule with two doors, Gamez observed the guard grabbing the man by the neck, throwing him against the wall, and delivering six punches. The man fell to the floor, at which point the guard kicked him in the head six times, stepped on him, and slapped him, according to Gamez.

Gamez attempted to open the closest door to help the man, but it could only be opened from the inside. He began filming but soon paused to access the vestibule through the other door. "This guy is going to kill this poor guy," he recalled thinking before he stopped recording.

Once he entered the vestibule, Gamez noted that the man started to "wake up" and ran out of the store, prompting Gamez to chase after him. "I was like, 'no he's not okay, and after what had happened, he can't be okay,'" he stated.