Waterloo Police Investigate After Man & Service Dog Reportedly Forced Out Of Restaurant
Police say it is a "very open and ongoing investigation."
This article contains graphic content that might not be suitable for some readers.
Waterloo Regional Police are investigating an alleged incident where a man and his service dog were forced out of a restaurant.
Police told Narcity that they were called to Milton's Restaurant on November 10 at approximately 6:40 p.m. by a customer.
Police said a man accompanied by a service dog went into the restaurant and was asked for documentation, when "an altercation broke out and [police] were called."
A Facebook user posted a video of the altercation, writing, "Just experienced this at the Milton's restaurant in Kitchener ontario, you see both owners refusing and throwing out this paying customers because they refused the service dog… please watch this sad video it just happened i just witnessed this…"
The events leading up to the altercation are still being determined by police, and they are asking anyone who saw the incident or took a video to come forward.
In the video posted to Facebook, the man is forcibly restrained by multiple individuals while yelling, "Leave me alone, leave me...get off of me!"
One individual can be heard saying, "Leave the dog. Leave the dog. Leave the dog and stay in here."
Another individual restraining him replies saying, "We asked you to leave a hundred times, buddy. You're trespassing"
He yells back in a quieter tone, "I didn't do anything wrong, I didn't do anything wrong," as he trails off into sobs as the camera focuses on his dog, which is wearing an unidentifiable blue vest.
"Relax, man. We asked you to leave a hundred times."
"You came up me out of nowhere, and I just asked you who you were, f**k you!" he says.
The altercation becomes more aggressive at this point, with the man pleading to the individuals that he has "done nothing wrong" and that he has his dog's license while the individuals continue to urge the man to leave verbally and physically.
The video goes on for over four minutes with the group yelling back and forth at each other with multiple physical altercations occurring until two of the individuals push the man to the ground and restrain his legs.
The person filming the video interjects saying, "Stop touching him. Leave him alone. You're hurting him."
"We want him out," one of the individuals responds.
"He's got a service dog. You can't kick someone out for having a service dog."
Towards the end of the video, the man is still on the ground while multiple people stand over him.
"You f*cking kicked me. I'm f**king bleeding there. You assaulted me, you little f**k," one of the men standing over him says.
"You–both of you assaulted me," he yells back.
"I should kick you right in the head right now. I'd f**king knock you out, you f**k."
After further confrontation, the man eventually gets up with his dog's leash in hand and appears to leave the restaurant.
According to the Ontario government website, guide dogs and other service animals "must be allowed" to stay with their handlers while receiving services in restaurants, grocery stores and taxis.
Police said in a statement that "this is a very open and ongoing investigation."
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.