Surveillance footage capturing a homeless man's death in the alley behind a CVS pharmacy in Chicago in 2010 was released today, showing several minutes of the attack in which store manager Pedro Villarosa held down and strangled 35-year-old Anthony Kyser while six passersby helped hold him down.
Kyser had reportedly stolen a tube of toothpaste from the store and was followed out into the street by Villarosa. From DNAInfo, which also released the original video:
It shows Kyser's final minutes on May 8, 2010, and the beginning of the police investigation into the case. No charges were filed in Kyser's death, which police ruled an accident. CVS has said the manager acted in self-defense after being attacked by Kyser.
The video appears to capture Kyser fleeing to the alley with the store manager close behind him. There's a brief struggle before Kyser hits the pavement, with the store manager on top of him.
Another man appears to punch and kick Kyser, at one point stepping down on his hand while the store manager remains atop Kyser. More bystanders join in, helping to hold Kyser down. Eventually, Kyser stops flailing his legs, the video shows.
Ann Marie Kyser, the victim's mother, has filed a lawsuit holding CVS liable for his death. Pedro Villanova claimed self-defense after Kyser struck him, but admitted in court that he heard Kyser say "I can't breathe" before dying.
According to Salon, the police department decided not to press criminal charges even after the Medical Examiner's Office "ruled the death a homicide." No criminal charges are currently pending.
Last year, several unarmed shoplifters were killed by security guards at Wal-Marts in Texas and Georgia.
[Screenshot from footage via DNAInfo]