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A police investigation was launched earlier this week, when a video of a bouncer at Milo’s Cantina on Main Street in Poughkeepsie went viral, where he is seen putting the patron - later identified as Mike Boyce - in a chokehold and kicking him.
Boyce “declined to proceed with criminal charges,” police investigators said in a statement.
In the video - which has more than 135,000 views on YouTube and 1.5 million views on Facebook - the bouncer could be heard shouting “I will put you to sleep” while the manager stood by as the bouncer struggled with Boyce on the floor. She was also caught on camera arguing with the man recording the video before locking the man doing the video outside the bar.
Boyce’s wife said that he met with friends for drinks and when he attempted to head outside to collect money for the balance of their bill, the situation escalated with the manager and bouncer.
While he was locked out, the videographer caught the bouncer kicking the man several times while he was down before pulling the patron up and continuing the confrontation.
“So as some of you may have seen in conversation, my husband Mike Boyce was assaulted by the bouncer at Milo's Cantina for no good reason,” Boyce's wife, Jade, posted on Facebook. “The kind of assault you see where someone accidentally dies from strangulation. I’ve since reached out to the owner, which also is the owner of Schatzi's Pub & Bier Garden of Poughkeepsie next door, with no response.”
“He was then taken to the ground, put in a choke hold for several minutes, kneed and punched in the head and robbed by the staff and held behind locked doors where no one could help him, all visible in the video,” his wife noted.
The complete Youtube video can be seen here. (Warning: graphic content.)
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