South Bay Restaurant Worker Who Threw Plates And Punches Says He Endured Racial Slurs: Report

TORRANCE, CA — A now ex-Benihana employee says he was racially discriminated against before a fight that broke out at the restaurant's Torrance location earlier this month, according to a video interview by Fox 11 Los Angeles News.

In an interview with Fox 11 News, the ex-employee, Eli Dawkins, said that some of his colleagues had called him racial slurs and that he reported the incident to human resources. But neither human resources nor his manager offered any support to help him, Dawkins said.

Video posted on Instagram by KCAL News appears to show the worker throwing plates and punches at the security guard before onlookers intervene. The security guard was left with facial and head injuries, according to the Torrance Police Department.

Police said in a statement after the fight that the restaurant's manager had told the worker to leave, but he refused. That's when the security guard stepped in, and the brawl broke out, authorities said

"I was attacked," Dawkins said in an interview with Fox 11 Los Angeles. "A fight is with one person. There was two people putting their hands on me."

A spokesperson with the Torrance Police Department told Patch they couldn't corroborate whether anyone had said any racial slurs to Dawkins.

They said last week that they were searching for Dawkins after he was accused of assaulting the security guard. As of Monday, no arrests in connection with the incident have been made, according to the Torrance Police Department, which said the investigation is ongoing.

Watch more from Fox 11 Los Angeles.