LONDON, Ont. — A man has been charged with forcible confinement and assault following what police describe as an incident involving "race-related comments."
Police in London, Ont., say on July 17, a man was in a grocery store and tried to stop another man from leaving.
The exchange was captured on camera and the video was posted on social media, where it has since garnered two million views.
In it, a man appears to be physically blocking another man from leaving while speaking to someone on his cellphone and referring to that man as an "illegal alien."
At my local Sobey’s , ( LONDON ONT. NORTH LONDON STORE) a man accuses the young man of being an “illegal alien” & won’t allow him to leave the store. Continues to push the young man to force him to stay in the store as he has called the police & wants the police to come to the store for the young man (while he has done absolutely nothing) .. he continues to ask if he’s scared to be deported & asked the young man to show his Canadian documentation, & tells him if he leaves the store he will conduct a “citizens arrest” on behalf of the police. 🤦🏻♀️ ... I see a lot of comments of people wondering if he was shop lifting, he was not, he rightfully PAID for his items.
Posted by Katie Pocasangre Montoya on Tuesday, 17 July 2018
Police spokeswoman Sandasha Bough says the alleged victim didn't want to press charges, but officers with the force's hate crime unit decided to continue their investigation.
She says 39-year-old Phillip McLaughlin of London has been charged with assault, forcible confinement and causing a disturbance.
Bough says if McLaughlin is convicted and the incident is determined to have been hate-related, it will affect his sentence.
