First Nations leaders in Manitoba are demanding an investigation after they say an Indigenous man was beaten by a security guard at a downtown Winnipeg Dollarama store.

A video posted to Facebook on Saturday afternoon shows a guard straddling a man lying on the store’s floor, punching and kicking him, pulling him upward and slamming him down again.

At one point, the guard is heard threatening to kill the man, whose jacket is pulled over his head as he tries to block the blows with his arms.

The guard swears at bystanders protesting his actions.

“It was just disgusting. I was appalled by what I saw in that video,” said Kyra Wilson, grand chief of the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs.

“There seems to be a metal object that’s being used. So there needs to be an investigation.”

Although the man’s face isn’t seen, Wilson said it is an Indigenous man on the ground.

“We’re making sure that there are formal complaints that are going to take place,” Wilson said.

The AMC is contacting police and Impact Security, the company name on the guard’s uniform, she said.

“We need to fully understand what has happened in that video. As a security guard, you have an obligation to keep everybody safe, and excessive force and assault is not a part of that.”

In a statement sent to CBC News, Impact Security Group said the guard in the video has been removed from active duty and “further action … will be decided after our investigation and consultation with his union.”

“We take these matters seriously as this is not consistent with our mission to provide safety and security in public settings,” the statement said.

Robbery, threat charges

A police spokesperson said officers were called around 1 p.m. Saturday to the Dollarama on Portage Avenue, near Donald Street, after a robbery and a man fighting with security were reported.

“The suspect was medically cleared on scene and was walked to police headquarters by officers to be processed. The 46-year-old male suspect faces charges of uttering threats to cause death or bodily harm and robbery,” Const. Claude Chancy said in an email to CBC News, referring to the man who is on the ground in the video.

“The security guard suffered minor injuries and did not require medical attention.”

Chancy had no information on whether the guard’s actions are being investigated.

A spokesperson for Dollarama, in an emailed statement to CBC News, said the company does not authorize the use of force in any situation.

Contracted security firms are required to uphold a standard “where everyone is treated with respect, regardless of the circumstances,” the email said.

Dollarama has “put the security firm on notice while we investigate why protocol was not followed, and we are fully co-operating with the authorities in their investigation,” the email said. It didn’t explain what it means for the firm to be on notice.

The Southern Chiefs’ Organization, which represents 33 Anishinaabe and Dakota Nations in southern Manitoba, is “raising urgent, serious concerns” and requesting a meeting with Justice Minister Matt Wiebe and the Winnipeg Police Service.

“Violence against our citizens demands a broad public response,” SCO Grand Chief Jerry Daniels said in a news release issued Sunday. “This incident is deeply disturbing.”

The organization also wants Impact Security to be held responsible for the incident and the province — as the regulating body for security licensing — to immediately launch a comprehensive review of training, standards and oversight for private security guards and in-store loss prevention personnel.

The review must examine use-of-force policies, “including whether weapons or hard objects are being authorized, carried, or informally tolerated,” the news release said.

Community activist Barb Guimond said a rally is planned for 4 p.m. Monday outside the Dollarama on Portage.

“Nobody deserves that kind of treatment from anyone, no matter if you steal or not. I don’t condone stealing, but still … that’s just atrocious, disgusting,” she said.