NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The man behind the viral video who said he was assaulted and wrongfully detained by a security guard is now seeking millions in damages.
Joshua Brooks said he feared for his life when the security guard reached for a gun as Brooks tried to leave the dog park at Bells Bluff apartments in Nashville last year.
Attorney Daniel Nesheiwat says his client suffered “emotional trauma” from this experience and they want not only the security guard to pay but those who sent him in the first place.
"I'm dumbfounded. I'm shocked that something like this happened. What happened to Mr. Brooks shouldn't have happened to anyone," Nesheiwat said.
They’re seeking $2.7 million from Elmington Property Management and their on-site manager for the “unlawful assault and detention inflicted upon Brooks” as well as the “mental pain and suffering including fright, emotional trauma, anxiety, humiliation, and indignity.”
The lawsuit also asks for $750,000 in punitive damages from security guard Christopher Wall.
Wall was seen in the video standing between Brooks and the dog park exit in October 2021. Wall told Brooks he was warned about being on the property by the property managers, so this time there would be no more warnings.
What Wall didn’t realize is that the warnings from before were only on paper and Brooks was never notified. Brooks lives in a nearby apartment complex and routinely walked his dog to the park which at that time had no “private property” signs.
"There's no signage. There's no anything to tell him he shouldn't be here... and he lives right next door," Nesheiwat said.
Brooks told Wall in the video that he was willing to leave, but Wall refused. A shoving match ensued ending in Wall attempting to draw his gun.
Brooks surrendered and that’s when he says Wall laid on top of him for at least 15 minutes before Metro Police arrived.
"So he's sitting there pretty much at gunpoint where this security guard the entire time is threatening him with his body language by putting his hands on his holstered weapon," Nesheiwat said.
Brooks told us back in 2021, "thank God for cell phones. Lord knows where I’d be right now had I not had my cell phone."
Officers watched the video but declined to arrest either man. They told Brooks he did the right thing by trying to leave when he was asked, but they also said Wall appeared to be doing what he was told.
Wall told officers he didn’t know this was the first warning Brooks was aware of, but attorneys say this is negligence that put their client’s life in jeopardy.
"Mr. Brooks is there wondering. 'Am I going to be the next victim? Am I going to be the one shot and killed trying to walk my dog?' This still has a tremendous on him mentally of what he's trying to deal with," Nesheiwat said.
We found out in 2021 that Wall was fired from APS Security shortly after Brooks released cellphone footage of the encounter.
APS Security wrote in a statement that they were not aware Wall had signed an agreement to work security detail for the apartment complex while off-duty.
We reached out to administrators with Elmington Property Management and are waiting for a response.
