By CIARAN FOREMAN, REPORTER Published: 12:43 BST, 3 October 2025 | Updated: 12:47 BST, 3 October 2025
An innocent John Lewis customer was violently slammed to the pavement after being wrongly accused of shoplifting by heavy-handed security guards.Shocking footage captured on Above Bar Street, Southampton, shows the moment witnesses say 'could have killed' the victim as he was thrown to the concrete after being grappled from behind.Onlookers said the man, believed to be in his 60s and wearing a blue t-shirt, had been tailed by guards after exiting the nearby John Lewis.Staff had accused him of lifting an item from the luxury department store and had made demands to see inside his bag.The confrontation came to a head in the video captured by one witness, where a member of staff tells the man: 'We've got confirmation you've taken an item from us without paying for it.'When asking for proof of ID, two security guards approach the victim from behind, with one yanking and wrestling him to the ground in front of stunned onlookers.As the altercation exploded, one of the guards can be heard screaming in the man's ear: 'Behave yourself, right now! Right now!'But in an embarrassing turn for the hot-headed security and staff, a search of the victim's bag revealed he had not taken anything from the store. Two security guards approached the victim from behind, with one yanking and wrestling him to the ground in front of stunned onlookers Witnesses say it 'could have killed' the victim as he was aggressively thrown to the ground As the altercation exploded, one of the guards could be heard screaming in the man's ear: 'Behave yourself, right now! Right now!'Though he was quickly released with the apologies of all involved, the man was left shaken by the ordeal which occurred in broad daylight on the busy shopping street.Minutes after the victim departed the area, the member of staff who could be seen in the video wearing all black, also bizarrely fainted on the street.Local farmer Thomas Oswald captured the shocking footage while he was out for a coffee in the city centre, and said he was 'absolutely shocked' at how the man was treated.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.'Supporting the victim for asking to see staff ID while he was being questioned, Mr Oswald said: 'If you'd had your bag taken off of you and accused of stealing in public, you'd be pretty annoyed.'They could have sat the man down and dealt with the incident calmly but instead they slammed him to the ground.'I think it's probably fairly common if you see what happens nowadays.'If they saw him stealing, why not talk to him in the shop? Why get him out on the high street and slam him down there?'Addressing the fainting member of staff, he speculated: 'I have no idea about the manager fainting. He could have just realised he made an awful, terrible mistake.'Both Go!Southampton, the company the security guards belong to, and John Lewis have said they are investigating the incident.A spokesperson for John Lewis said: 'We were very concerned to see this video, and are urgently investigating this matter.'A spokesperson from Go!Southampton added: '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.'
