Man filmed spewing slurs and throwing sign at delivery driver he accused of being ‘Indian’
‘Those words were actually worse than the actual assault’, says victim
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A worker in Miami, Florida, has spoken out after he was allegedly called racial slurs and physically assaulted while delivering food to a condo building.
Paulo Silva said he was doing a delivery at the Miami Plaza condo building on Monday night when he was called an “Indian” and attacked in the lobby area by a man.
Speaking to WSVN-TV on Thursday, he said he opened the door for a group of women who were waiting outside the lobby and commented: “Wow, this guy is sitting here. He doesn’t open the door for you”.
That man apparently heard what was said and was seen in CCTV video approaching Mr Silva.
“He’s like asking, what did I say? So I told him I said, ‘Yeah, you were sitting there. You didn’t open the door for the people,’ and so then he went into a rage,” said the delivery driver.
Mr Silva, who kept his arms behind his back and chose not to engage in the confrontation, said he was “lucky” that he was not hit on the head during the encounter.
The delivery driver sustained scratches to his side after the man hurled a plastic sign at him. He said he was also pushed.
Mr Silva said he was called an “Indian”, in an apparent racial attack, and told the local news station: “It’s harsh. I think that those words were actually worse than the actual assault.”
“People shouldn’t just be doing stuff like that and getting away with it,” said Mr Silva, who filed a police report after the attack. “Nobody should be hitting anybody. You know, the guy should get arrested.”
According to the report, Miami Police are investigating the incident as an assault and were unaware of racial slurs being used. The building’s owners have meanwhile said the matter is in the hands of police.
The Independent has approached police for comment.