Security guards slam man to the floor after he was falsely accused of shoplifting

Security guards pulled a man to the ground after falsely accusing him of shoplifting from John Lewis.

The man, thought to be in his 60s, had his bag confiscated as he left the department store in Southampton, witnesses said.

He was then asked for his ID before being confronted by security guards who patrol the high street, who ‘slammed’ the shopper to the floor.

Thomas Oswald, a farmer, witnessed the attack as he was sitting at nearby café.

‘I was absolutely shocked at what had just unfolded in front of me’, he said.

‘The poor victim’s head was just a few inches from hitting a curb.

‘It would have killed him. If he’d hit the corner of the curb that hard it would have killed him or given him serious brain damage.”

‘I didn’t know if I should call the police but I could tell the way the man was being treated wasn’t right.’

Video footage of the incident showed the two guards shouting aggressively at the man, while a John Lewis worker searched his belongings.

They were then seen apologising after the search returned nothing, before the shaken man was released and walked away.

The John Lewis worker was then seen fainting on the spot.

The two security guards were understood to be working for Go! Southampton, one of the UK’s 320 business improvement districts (BIDs) and currently undergoing accreditation.

In a statement from the organisation said: ‘We are aware of the incident, which we are taking very seriously.

‘Our service partner Argenbright Security Europe Limited are currently conducting a thorough investigation into the event.’

A spokesperson for John Lewis said: ‘We were very concerned to see this video and are urgently investigating.’

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