Local

Iconic uptown restaurant center of lawsuit after man dies on sidewalk

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — An iconic hot dog joint in uptown Charlotte is being sued after a deadly confrontation outside the restaurant.

The brother of the man who died said JJ's Red Hots is at fault.

“Because he meant so much to us, you know,” Isaac Johnson said. “How could they just kill my brother, sweep it under the rug and move on?"

[Upscale French restaurant coming to new uptown tower]

Eyewitness News reporter Mark Becker dug through the legal complaint and the initial findings from police.

Investigators ruled the death was not a crime, but his family doesn't agree.

Hutchison went to J.J.’s Red Hots to get something to eat on Feb. 1.

The general manager refused to serve him, the lawsuit said. She called an employee, Charles Sanders to deal with Hutchison, who refused to leave, the lawsuit said.

Sanders punched Hutchison in the head and knocked him to the ground, according to the lawsuit.

Sanders dragged Hutchison on the floor by his clothing and violently threw him out of the restaurant onto the street.

The lawsuit goes on to claim that Sanders “violently punched” Hutchison twice in the head after he was outside on the sidewalk.

Hutchison's head hit the curb. He lost consciousness and never recovered.

“It's not been easy,” Johnson said. “It's been stressful. A lot of questions still remain.”

His family wants justice for his brother.

Johnson said Hutchison had suffered from mental illness for years and spent many years on the street.

Surveillance cameras inside and outside the restaurant captured the incident.

Police and the district attorney's office reviewed the video and ruled that Hutchison's death was a case of justifiable homicide, which means self-defense.

“I just don't understand how they were able to come to the conclusion that it was a self-defense matter, when what I saw had nothing to do with self-defense,” Johnson said. “He was beaten to death.”

Sanders is no longer is no longer employed at the restaurant.

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