Video shows shocking altercation at Kitchener restaurant

A disturbing altercation, all caught on video (Warning: contains graphic language). 

Bystanders at Miltons, Wednesday night, witnessed the alleged owners of the establishment in a physical altercation with a man, who had a service dog.

“Apparently they walked up to him and failed to identify themselves as the owners,” said Alex Roy, whose brother recorded and posted the video to Facebook. “They asked for his legal papers for his service dog. He said I'm not showing you, I don't know who you are … and that's when it escalated.”

Throughout the video, you can hear the man continuously say, “I've done nothing wrong … I didn't know who you were … you came up to me out of nowhere … I have her licence.”

Roy even attempted to break up the altercation. He identified himself as 'the guy in the white shirt' at the start of the video.

“They were trying to throw him out, obviously using force,” Roy added.  “If you look at the video, in his right hand, he's holding the papers. He was yelling, these are my papers.”

At one point in the video, you can see the man get taken to the ground, and the alleged owners attempting to grab him by his feet. The owners say multiple times that they want him to leave and that he's “trespassing,” to which the man responds. “I'm on the right side of the law … I'm not leaving … I'm not trespassing.”  One of the owners also threatens to “kick him in the head and knock him out.”

Danielle Forbes is the executive director of National Service Dogs, and she said service and guide dog users have the same, equal access to public spaces, as anyone else.

“What matters under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act is that the person on the end of the leash has a doctor's note in their pocket that says they need the dog to mitigate their disability,” added Forbes.

Forbes said if a dog is misbehaving, the establishment can ask the person to leave. However, if the dog is behaving appropriately, and the person has their paperwork, then there is no reason to be denied or asked to leave. She also noted that the dog's jacket is ultimately an indicator, it's the doctor's note that is required.

Waterloo Regional Police said they are aware of both the incident and the video. An investigation is underway.

Access to their website is suspended.

A man identifying as the owner had a brief conversation with CityNews Friday morning, but is refusing to comment on the record.

Protesters were spotted outside the restaurant Thursday night, outraged over the incident.

“Service animals are essential too,” said one of the signs held by a young woman.

A GoFundMe campaign was launched to help the man “recover his enjoyment of dining out by treating him and his companion.”

The campaign has raised over $2,000, as of Friday morning.

– With files from Brittany Ramsay and Mark Pare.

Small group of protesters outside of Milton’s in Kitchener – these three say they’ve been here about an hour and got the signs from other protesters who were out here earlier today. https://t.co/MSO1sYzgBH pic.twitter.com/suXL9KryNK

— Erin Anderson (@erinbailey_a) November 12, 2021