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The shocking scene played out Saturday night, Jan. 6, in Rensselaer County at the Uncle Sam Lanes in Troy.
Video shared on Facebook shows a man who appears to be homeless attempting to enter the business as an employee yells for him to leave.
“Quickly!” the employee shouts while raising a Coors bucket filled with water.
The man then turns around and begins walking toward another set of doors to leave the business as the employee follows.
“You got 30 seconds or I’m gonna (expletive) throw it at you,” the employee tells the man.
The worker then counts to 30 as the man continues exiting the building and walks down a staircase toward the parking lot.
As he reaches the sidewalk, video shows the employee tossing the bucket toward him, showering the man in water as snow falls around him.
The man is then heard telling the employee to “go (expletive) yourself,” prompting the employee to again approach him while still carrying the bucket.
“Don’t you ever come back, you understand that?” the employee yells before tossing the remainder of the liquid onto the man.
Video of the incident quickly went viral on social media with most commenters chastising the employee.
“I don’t give a (expletive) how you personally feel about the homeless, this is inhumane and cruel,” one Ballston Lake resident wrote on Facebook.
The clip also caught the attention of newly sworn in Troy Mayor Carmella Mantello, who said she had reached out to Uncle Sam Lanes management regarding the “unacceptable behavior.”
“While I recognize that it is permissible to escort a person off private property, any subsequent actions such as those that transpired in this incident, are not acceptable,” Mantello said.
“I encourage all local business owners to contact the Troy Police Department if they encounter similar situations. There is no place in our community for this type of behavior.”
In a post on its now-deleted Facebook page, the business identified the worker as manager Tom Walsh Jr. – the son of owner Lorraine Walsh and her late husband, Tom Walsh Sr. – and said he had been "terminated."
“We do not condone his behavior and we are deeply sorry for his actions and the hurt this has caused.”
The bowling alley issued a separate apology on its website, writing:
"At this time... 89-year-old Lorraine Walsh would like to publicly apologize for the conduct of Tom Walsh Jr (previously manager) of Uncle Sam Lanes.
Upon being shown the horrific video and actions of Tom Walsh Jr., she immediately dismissed him. She and the family do not condone this behavior and are deeply sorry for the pain and suffering that took place."Detectives with the Troy Police Department are investigating the incident. They asked anyone with information to contact the agency at (518) 270-4421 or online.
View video of the incident below.
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