MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The man brutally beaten outside a BP gas station by a teen mob earlier this year has filed a lawsuit.
It’s against BP and the gas station’s owner, claiming not enough was done to keep the property safe.
The BP is located at Poplar and Cleveland, next to Northwest Prep, a school that educates kids who have gotten in trouble at other schools.
The store’s surveillance video captured the attack.
“We hope this prompts the gas station to do something to prevent this from happening in the future,” said the victim’s Lead Attorney, Joe Sibley.
WREG spoke with the lawyer, teaming up with other local attorneys, to represent Orrden Williams.
Williams was the man who walked a woman to her car in April, when she was scared of the large group of young men in the lot. Police said some of those kids were Northwest Prep students.
The lawsuit said Williams told the kids to behave in a respectful manner.
Police said a 23-year-old man punched Williams in the back of the head.
The video showed how the mob swarmed.
In the video, you can see Williams reach for the door.
You can also see someone inside hold it shut, just like Williams told WREG after the incident happened.
“The BP guy was standing there, holding the door at me, like no, so he was going to sit there and watch me get stomped to death,” Williams said.
Sibley said Williams’ fiancée and kids saw the attack too.
They were also named in the lawsuit, claiming they suffered psychological damage.
“Mr. Williams is African American. His children are African American, and his son is now afraid to be around large groups of African American men,” Sibley said.
Williams’s lawyer said BP should have had something like a security guard or off-duty officer manning the lot, knowing it’s a high crime area.
The clerk working at BP Friday did not want to talk to WREG. We left our number for the owner.
The lawsuit said Williams suffered injuries to his back, head, and upper body.
Sibley said Williams has been cooperating with prosecutors handling the cases of the young men accused of attacking him.
WREG called BP’s corporate offices. A spokesperson said the company is not commenting on the ongoing litigation.
