This is the shocking moment a black man was held down by five white security guards and elbowed in the face before being dragged out of a nightclub.
A customer filmed the moment the unidentified reveler was forcibly removed from Ropers Rockin-Country for “harassing people on the dance floor”.
Footage shows the man writhing on the ground at the venue in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, as one employee sits on him, another has him in a headlock and others hold his legs still.
A bouncer in a white baseball cap is seen repeatedly elbowing the man in the face, leaving him cut and bleeding from his head.
Two workers then lift him by his wrists and ankles while another grabs his t-shirt and they throw him roughly onto the sidewalk.
Kyle Gardner, 23, who filmed the incident, said that after tossing the man’s shoes outside after him and slamming the door, the workers “high fived and celebrated”.
Police were called to the scene and found the man unconscious on the sidewalk. He was taken to hospital with non life-threatening head injuries.
The bar insists its door staff acted in self defense and claims the man was thrown out because he had been harassing people on the dance floor and making gang signs.
But their rough handling of him has sparked a backlash after Kyle posted the 23-second recording on Facebook and it racked up almost 50,000 views in two days.
Kyle, from Mount Olive, Mississippi, USA, said he did not see the events that led up to the incident but started filming after he heard a “commotion”.
The electrician said: “I looked over and could see two guards had grabbed the guy and they pretty much dragged him across until they got to the doorway.
“There were two or three of them and then two or three more came over.
“At this point they hadn’t done anything wrong, but then they got him on the ground and they had two people down on his legs holding him down.
“There was a guy holding his right arm down and there was another guy laid down on the ground next to him.
“They had another staff member that had got him in a chokehold and there was one more guy on him and his hand was held down from an angle.
“One of the guards then threw a hard elbow into his face and I couldn’t see it all but it looked like a punch with a fist.
“At that point one of the bouncers from behind him was telling them to stop, but they were still holding his legs down.
“They threw him out just like you would a kid into a swimming pool. They had his arms and legs and they got him out of the door.
“They said there was some problem with him drinking. There was some reason for him being escorted out. But it was an assault.
“He didn’t seem to be fighting back at all. There was no resistance – nothing. And with the way they had him pinned down, he couldn’t have fought back.”
Kyle said he felt “angry” after witnessing the struggle at around 10.45pm on Friday at the bar, which he said has “90 per cent white” customers.
And he added that he was stunned when the staff laughed, high-fived and congratulated one another after chucking the man out.
He said: “I was definitely in shock. I looked at my friends and we were all thinking, ‘They just assaulted this man.’
“The way it looked – five or six white guys on this black guy. Their behavior was out of hand.
“They found enjoyment in it. They weren’t embarrassed and they showed absolutely no remorse.
“As far as this incident goes I don’t believe there is any proof to show me that it had anything to do with race, but I’m not willing to say there was no racism involved there.”
In a statement posted on Facebook, management at the country music venue said the customer was at fault and that there were “no wrongdoings” by staff.
They wrote: “Please keep in mind, that is ONE perspective from a customer who only decided to record the very end of a very long incident that included threats from the customer in the video.
“The customer broke many rules while inside of Ropers and had to be removed from the building.
“The video also leaves out a very important factor- the POLICE were called and involved.
“Police reviewed the video footage and agreed that the customer was at fault and there were no wrongdoings by any employee on the Ropers staff.
“We apologize for anyone that may be upset by this video.
“As a bar who has been a part of this community for over 25 years, we ask that you please keep in mind that there are two sides to every story and we assure you our staff are trained to properly handle these situations.”
Ryan Moore of City of Hattiesburg Police said officers were called to the scene at around 11pm after receiving multiple reports.
The Public Information Officer said: “When they arrived they found a male passed out on the sidewalk outside.
“He said he was assaulted and thrown out of the bar by multiple security guards.
“The victim was transferred to a local hospital for treatment with non life-threatening injuries.
“Management stated that the man was seen displaying gang-related signs and harassing people on the dance floor and was asked to leave the premises.
“They said the victim became combative and was taken to the ground in self defense.”
He added that no action has been taken against anyone involved in the incident, which would be classified as a misdemeanor as the man’s injuries were not severe.
Because of that, he would have to press charges himself in order for police to investigate the incident but is yet to do so.
