According to lawsuits, security personnel at Harrah’s Atlantic City attacked members of a South Florida family, wrestling three family members to the ground in two incidents and leaving one female family member with a broken nose.
The lawsuits were reported by the website Philly.com—the website of the Philadelphia Daily News and the Philadelphia Inquirer—which reviewed security tape of the altercations and posted the videos to the site.
According to the website and video:
The suits were filed by the Binns family—John Binns and his wife Renee and 17-year-old daughter Andrea—who were staying at the casino hotel in August 2012.
The altercation began after Binns complained his room key card wasn’t working. He was then attacked by four security guards in the casino’s lobby, the suit states.
In the video, Binns’ wife and daughter watched as the guards violently tackled Binns to the ground before subduing him after a struggle. Binns appeared frustrated, but is not physically touching any of the casino employees.
The video shows two men suddenly grabbing him from behind and from the front, then taking him to the ground as onlookers watched. The guards struggled with Binns, with one or more placing a knee on his back, until they controlled his arms and cuffed them behind his back with plastic ties.
Meanwhile, Binns’ wife, Renee, knelt on the ground and, according to the suit, pleaded with the guards to stop, telling them her husband has a heart ailment and wears a pacemaker.
The guards then brought Binns to his feet. Surveillance camera footage tracked Binns as security escorted him to an isolated office.
About five minutes later, video captured Renee and Andrea Binns walking through the casino when they were approached by security personnel.
One of the guards suddenly grabbed Renee Binns from behind. Five more men joined in and also approached her daughter, Andrea.
The guards overpowered the women and wrestled them to the ground. One guard pinned Renee against a garbage can as several others grappled with the younger Andrea, breaking her nose and knocking her unconscious as they force her to the marble floor, the suit states.
The family was forcibly reunited in a detention area. After being held for more than an hour, the Binns were released to Atlantic City Police. Officers took the family to a local hospital where doctors treated Andrea’s broken nose, said the family’s attorney, Michael Maggiano.
A 179-page civil suit filed Feb. 10 lists Renee Binns as plaintiff. The suit, filed in Lee County Court in Florida, seeks unspecified damages and alleges assault, battery, conspiracy, false imprisonment, and wrongful eviction.
The video posted to Philly.com did not have audio.
Harrah’s officials have not commented.
