Man Charged With Assault as Viral Video Shows Him Striking Black Man in Parking Garage After Mom Called Cops

A man has been charged with assault after he allegedly struck a Black worker in a parking garage, the Daily Beast reports.

In a video that has since gone viral, Edward Brennan can be seen taking a swing at Johnny Martinez, who was checking for parking permits on cars in a Nashville garage when he declined to show Brennan and his mother identification, prompting the mother to call the police. 

“As I was doing my rounds…I noticed people watching me,” Martinez told the Daily Beast. 

Martinez explained that he attempted to avoid the duo, until Brennan’s mother allegedly told him “you don’t belong here.” In the video, which was filmed by Martinez, Brennan can be seen approaching the camera and striking Martinez.

“When he attacked me, he swung, he almost hit me in the face,” Martinez said. “He broke this bottle opener off of my keys. When I went to go pick it up, he lunged.”

Martinez said he works for a booting company with “hundreds of contracts with properties across Nashville,” and felt his headlamp, lanyard, and kneepads made it clear that he was just doing his job in the parking garage. 

“After the encounter I waited at the property about 40 minutes for Metro PD where I filed a police report and will be pressing charges,” Martinez wrote in the caption of the YouTube video he posted. “The Karen had also called the police and conveniently left out the fact her son assaulted me.”

Brennan—whose mother was identified as “Bitsy”— reportedly hung up on the Daily Beast when they asked him to comment on their story.