Edward Brennan charged with assault after mother called police about black worker Johnny Martinez

A man is accused racial profile A black worker in a Tennessee parking garage with his white mother has been charged with assault after a video of the brawl went viral on social media, Nashville Metro police said.

According to an arrest warrant filed on December 2, Edward Brennan beat Johnny Martinez, who was checking his car for a parking permit in a Nashville garage, after his mother called the police because Martinez refused Show them your identification. “A reasonable person would consider the contact extremely offensive or provocative,” prompting Martinez to fear “imminent bodily injury,” the subpoena stated.

Martinez told The Daily Beast that he was working in the basement of the River House apartment building on the evening of November 27 when he saw a white mother and daughter spying on him.

“As I was doing my rounds… I noticed everyone was watching me,” he explains.

As he continued to work, Martinez said he tried to avoid the pair until his mother allegedly told him, “You don’t belong here. How did you get here?”

In an original video posted on YouTube, Martinez can be seen filming the mother and daughter when they question him. Brennan told Martinez he was going to call the police, and that the mother — identified as “Bitsy” — was on a mission to identify Martinez. Brennan then walked towards a car without a camera while the mother continued to harass Martinez.

When the son was on camera, he attacked Martinez, dropping the bottle opener from his keychain. Martinez told The Daily Beast that when he went to pick it up, Brennan allegedly tried to attack him again.

Martinez said: “When he attacked me, he swung around, almost hitting me in the face. “He broke this bottle opener off my keys. When I went to get it, he rushed over.”

Martinez said he waited for the police to show up, but the mother and daughter left. When reached for comment, Edward Brennan hung up on The Daily Beast.

Martinez explained that he worked for a startup that had hundreds of deals with properties across Nashville. His job is to ensure that vehicles on those lands have permits to park in those locations.

“If they don’t have a permit, we will immobilize the vehicle. We’re going to put a boot in it,” he said.

He explained that he thinks it’s normal for people to be curious about what he’s doing while checking out cars. But with big headlights, knee pads, and lanyards, he’ll appear formal enough for people to believe he’s working.

River House Apartments declined to comment on the matter.

Martinez said he was shocked more than anything by the incident, which left him feeling anxious days later.

“I feel like crap,” he said. “I thought I was going to have a typical Karen moment.”