FT. LAUDERDALE, FL (WSVN/CNN) – A hotel valet says a guest punched him in the face due to the hotel’s parking costs.
Surveillance video shows the Tuesday incident at the Ocean Sky Hotel in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Valet attendant Rodolfo Rodriguez says a man decided he did not want to pay to park.
“He told me, ‘I’ve got a friend visiting me,’ and I told him, ‘It’s $18 for the parking,'” Rodriguez said.
Moments later, the guest is seen punching Rodriguez in the face, knocking him out.
The valet is seen lying unconscious for about 20 seconds while the guest places Rodriguez’s arms behind his back.
Rodriguez then regained consciousness.
“I challenged the guy. I asked him, ‘What the hell are you doing?'” he said.
The valet didn’t receive an answer as the man walked back to his car.
Hotel employees say the guest identified himself as a former Atlanta-area police officer. He was not arrested and has not been charged in the incident.
“I kept asking, ‘Why is this guy not going to jail? Why is he not in handcuffs? He just assaulted my employee,'” said the hotel’s night manager, Mark Dyer.
Police say that, based on the information provided to them, this could be a battery case, but that would ultimately be up to the state attorney to decide.
Rodriguez says he would like to see the man go to jail because he’s “dangerous for other people.”
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