MIAMI (WSVN) - A bartender at a South Florida restaurant became a victim of a violent encounter.
Speaking exclusively to 7News, Nicky Roberts said the attack occurred at Bayside Marketplace in downtown Miami on Sunday night.
“It was so scary; it all happened so fast, the way his facial expression changed,” said Nicky Roberts, a bartender. “I’m like walking in like this, I have my head down, and I look up and see him…”
Surveillance video captured an angry customer pushing Roberts to the ground before walking out of the business.
Roberts told 7News it all began when she had words with the customer.
“The guy comes up to the service bar, he’s just standing there, and I told him ‘No, you can’t be there.’ He ignores me, and I come up to him, and I’m like, ‘Hey, sir, I can’t have you eating the garnishes; that’s for drinks.’ Because he was eating the fruit and he was like, ‘What do you want me to do [expletive], want me to spit it out?’ I’m like, ‘No, finish it, but I can’t have you standing here,’ And he just got really upset.”
Roberts says the man called over her manager to complain.
“He tells the manager he’s a veteran, he has [Post Traumatic Stress Disorder], he doesn’t let any woman talk to him like that,” she said.
She then said she thought the encounter was over, but 30 minutes later, as she was walking back into the restaurant, the two crossed paths again.
‘That’s when we had our run-in, and he shoved me, just like shoved me down. I hit my head super hard. I got up and started looking around like ‘OK, no one is going to chase after him?'” said Roberts.
After seeing everyone standing around, Roberts took matters into her own hands and chased after him in an attempt to take pictures of him.
“I’m calling him like, ‘Hey! Turn around, turn around,’ to get his face,” she recounted.
Outside Bayside’s Hard Rock Cafe, the victim said the man attacked her a second time.
“And he turns around and steps close to me, and he just smacks the phone out of my hand. And somewhere in my face or neck just shoved me down and I hit my head like this this time, and I’m like ‘Oh my God, my tooth!'” she said.
Roberts had to have emergency dental work done for her missing tooth and suffered bruises from both attacks. She also said she was diagnosed with a concussion.
She said the experience has left her traumatized.
“It’s become a trend for this violence against women, and it’s kind of being normalized. We see this happening a lot everywhere. I just don’t want to let another one of these people get away with that, especially since he felt so comfortable doing it to me,” said Roberts. “Miami and beyond, please help me find this guy so we can bring justice to this situation.”
Roberts said she is too scared to return to work at the Hard Rock Cafe.
City of Miami Police have taken a report on the incident, and people are urged to come forward with information for the investigation.
As of Tuesday evening, detectives have not identified the man as a suspect.
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