Video of fight in restaurant has people wondering why the Black man was the one who was arrested

A five-minute video shared to Facebook of the fight between a black customer and a white security guard has people wondering if both men were involved in the intense arguments, why was the black guy the only put into handcuffs?

The tense scene took place at the Tim Hortons restaurant in the Liberty Building in downtown Buffalo last July. A video of the fight shared to Facebook by Peter Cox has gained over 522k views and 2.4K comments, with most people pointing out the unfairness of the situation, as the black man was put into handcuffs by police even before they asked questions.

The white guy got to walk outside by himself, even though he was also in the wrong in the situation, according to many people who saw the video.

THE FIGHT

While is not clear why or how the discussion started, both men can be seen exchanging words at the coffee counter of the restaurant. When the customer, identified as Darryl Mingo, asks to see the owner, the security guard, who didn’t work at the restaurant, says “The owner’s not here.”

Mingo then asks the guard to mind his own business, saying “you don’t work here.” But the guard seems to ask Mingo to leave the store, and they both keep exchanging tense words for a minute. Then, Mingo tries to reach the counter, allegedly to get his coffee, but the guard doesn’t let him.

“Excuse me,” Mingo says, as he pushes the guard trying to get to the counter again. This time the guard grabs Mingo by the shoulder and, using all his force, knocks him down on some tables and chairs.

“You brought that on yourself, man. Now pick up your stuff," the guard says while helping Mingo up.

While it seems like the situation has calmed down a bit, soon the men start arguing again, as the confrontation made Mingo upset. He threatens the guard saying that, if he puts his hands on him again, he will knock him off.

They get in each other’s faces, and as a Mingo keeps threatening and cursing the guards, the guy slaps his face. Then they start throwing punches around until the guard backs up Mingo into a corner of the store settling down the situation again.

THE POLICE ARRIVAL

They both back off after that, still staring but keeping a safe distance. That’s when a police officer arrives on a bike and, without asking questions, handcuffs Mingo while talking to the guard, who follows them outside as if nothing.

Angry commenters on the Facebook video expressed their opinions at the police’s actions:

“How Sad...Why wasn't the other guy Arrested he hit him first. This is Sad.they both should have been cited regardless.”

“That's the first thing the cops do run straight to the black guy and lock him up, but it's obvious the white dude should have been going to jail and it irritates me nobody in that said anything.”

“What I want to know is why is only the black guy getting arrested when the white guy puts hands on him first they should both be going to jail.”

“Why is it that the black man is Always the one that is put in handcuffs.”

THE CHARGES

According to Buffalo News, the police report states that the guard accused Mingo of pushing and punching him, leaving him with "substantial pain, swelling and bleeding to his mouth area.”

Mingo was charged with one misdemeanor for assault and two noncriminal violations, trespassing and harassment. He spent a few days in jail and then, Buffalo Police Commissioner Byron Lockwood stated that after watching the entire video of the incident they were going to keep investigating the case.

Now, Mingo’s charges were dropped by Buffalo City Court Judge Barbara Johnson-Lee, as reported by Matthew Albert, Mingo's attorney. He’s now planning to file a civil rights lawsuit against the city, including the police officers that arrested him: Eric Augustyn, Joseph Petronella, and Patrick Baggott.

The security guard was not charged.