A video of a confrontation between a street vendor and a couple on a Hollywood street has gone viral, already racking up nearly 1.5 million views on Facebook.
Los Angeles Police Department officers responded to a report of a battery investigation at 6000 West Romaine Street in Hollywood on July 17.
Vendor Benjamin Ramirez says he is the vendor whose cart was flipped after a couple in the neighborhood told him he shouldn't be there because he didn’t have a permit.
Ramirez said the neighbor in the video had yelled at him before, but the situation escalated last Monday when the neighbor returned with a woman.
"He was yelling at me 'get out of my way' … that he wanted to get by," Ramirez said.
He said he moved his cart, but the neighbor wasn't satisfied and appeared to point a stun gun at him.
The vendor said he got "scared" so he threw chili powder in the man’s face. The powder appears to irritate the man's face. And when Ramirez grabs an object and raises it, the woman yells.
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That woman declined to speak with Telemundo 52, NBC4’s sister station, and NBC4's attempts to reach the man in the video have been unsuccessful.
Officers took a report for vandalism, however no arrests were made.
Both the vendor and aggressor are due in court later this week, according to the LAPD. If the aggressor fails to appear, a warrant for his arrest will be issued. This is a civil case, police added.
