Alleged beating of homeless man by Berkeley ambassador being investigated
BERKELEY, Calif. (KGO) -- Shocking video has surfaced online showing a homeless man being beaten by a man hired to help downtown Berkeley businesses, with another colleague seen standing by not doing anything to try to stop the attack.
The man and woman in the video have not been charged with any crimes. They were hired as community ambassadors by a downtown Berkeley merchants group.
The video clearly shows a downtown Berkeley ambassador throwing punch after punch, but when police arrived they arrested two homeless men involved in the fight.
The starling video on YouTube shows a violent argument between two downtown Berkeley ambassadors dressed in neon green and two homeless men.
RAW VIDEO: Berkeley Ambassador beats homeless man
It happened in a back alley behind a CVS on Shattuck Avenue.
At first, the two sides are talking and then yelling.
The homeless man tells the pair to stay away from his things. Then, one of the ambassadors identified as Jeffrey Bailey throws a punch, beats and chases him.
His female co-worker, Carmen Francois tries to hold off the other homeless man as he waves a pole trying to intervene.
The video was taken a week ago and now that it's out. "We're all very pretty much disgusted in it. And there's a couple reasons why. It's not just the physical altercation I have a problem with. The problem I have with it is this is the type of type of altercation that we continually train about and have to mitigate on a daily basis," said Lance Goree, with the downtown Berkeley Association.
Goree says they fired Bailey and suspended Francois for 10 days. He says they told him they were defending themselves. In fact, police showed up and arrested the homeless men on suspicion of assault, a misdemeanor.
The operations manager for Block by Block which employs the ambassadors says the YouTube video tells a different story.
"We're here to provide hospitality and outreach to the community. We're not here for any law enforcement purposes let alone engaging in a violent matter of that sort," Downtown Berkeley Association CEO John Caner said.
The ambassadors have not been charged with any crime.
Police told ABC7 News they got a call that the homeless men were armed with a pole that had a blade or knife attached to it.
The video is being reviewed by the district attorney's office.
