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Protestors gather outside Kitchener, Ont. restaurant as police investigate service dog incident

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KITCHENER -

Protestors have been gathering outside Milton’s Restaurant in Kitchener, Ont. as police continue to investigate an incident involving a service dog that took place there Wednesday night.

A small group who were at the restaurant Saturday say they came to demonstrate peacefully, but were met with some aggression.

Sarah Hamilton says someone she believes was a customer came out of the restaurant and assaulted her.

“He walked right up to me, tried to grab my phone out of my hand, and when he couldn’t do that he pushed me to the ground,” she said. “He started trying to push me to the ground and then another protestor got involved and stopped it.”

Police confirm they were called to the restaurant for a disturbance.

They add that they’re reviewing a video posted on social media that appears to show a man with a service dog being forcibly removed from the restaurant.

“It really struck a nerve with what happened to Justin,” said protest organizer Stephen Irwin. “I have a nephew that has cerebral palsy and I can’t imagine anybody laying their hands on him and doing something like that to him, so I had to come down and do something, and if all I can do is stand here and protest, that’s what I can do.”

Justin Leckie, the man in the video, lives with Asperger’s and claims he was seated when two men asked to see his service dog’s certification.

He says he was asked to leave the restaurant, refused, and was dragged out.

On Friday, the owner of the restaurant told CTV News the video doesn’t tell the full story, claims the incident had nothing to do with the dog, and that Leckie was asked to leave when he didn’t show documentation.

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