FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A shocking attack was caught on camera when a hotel employee was allegedly assaulted by a guest.
But when police showed up to that Fort Lauderdale Best Western, it’s that victim who ended up being arrested.
The entire ordeal, which happened back in January, was captured on surveillance video.
The victim also claimed that the guest was calling him racial slurs.
It was civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump who shared the shocking video.
In the video, you can see the man who is sitting down, Raymond Rachal, get up and start throwing punches at another man who showed up suddenly and immediately came behind the desk, toward Rachal.
From the video, it’s not clear whether there was an exchange of words before the two started fighting, but the brawl continues even as someone tries to break it up.
At one point, Rachal can be seen even holding the other man in a headlock for some time.
An arrest report says when police showed up, they found that the man who was in a headlock had blood gushing from his face.
Police say they asked Rachal to let the man go, but he refused.
The video shows an officer push Rachal a couple of times, and that is when police say he allegedly pushed an officer back.
When they tried putting Rachal handcuffs the arrest form says he tensed up and resisted arrest.
In a tweet from Ben Crump, he says:
“Hotel employee Raymond Rachal tried to exercise his RIGHT to cancel a white hotel guest’s stay for spewing racial slurs at him, but Ft. Lauderdale (Fla) PD officers allowed the man to STAY & Rachal was attacked, arrested & charged for defending himself!”
Rachal was charged with disorderly conduct and resisting an officer. He was not available for comment.
Management at the Best Western also had nothing to say.