A Utah man is suing a former restaurant owner whom he alleges “became enraged” and charged at him with a fire extinguisher to put out the cigarette he was smoking in a public plaza — an exchange caught on video that has since gone viral.
The lawsuit filed Monday in Salt Lake district court was largely expected, though it spells out for the first time some of what led up to the controversy and the issues that have continued since. And it requests damages be awarded to cover the medical problems that Jonathan Bird said he’s had as a result of the confrontation.