A barberh shop owner calls police to remove a former employee who refuses to leave. What looks like a simple trespass call is actually a civil criminal boundary problem that most officers get wrong. The owner holds the commercial lease. The subject, call him Juan, holds the barber shop operating license. Both men claim the shop. Officers cannot resolve that. What they can resolve is who has lawful possession of the physical space right now. He's refusing to leave. I text him. I called him. I told him verbally. He feels entitled. Is he there right now? >> He's there right now. >> Okay. >> Yeah. He's on the first booth. I can go with you. I just want a present. So, I'm going to give him a chance to take his stuff. >> I just don't want him to get crazy with me and take stuff that doesn't belong to him. >> But I've asked him to leave. >> It's not his system. >> So, you just What do you want back? You want to trespass and you want your keys and everything back? >> Cuz I have uh he has keys to my shop and he has keys to my equipment. I have two vending machines. >> Mhm. And he's not giving it up. >> Did you like recently fire him or something? >> Yes, a week ago. Yeah. >> A week ago. >> I fire him. I told him he's got to leave. I was out of town. I hear he keeps coming back. I text him this morning, a little while ago, said, "You got to leave." He believes I can't fire him. Feels entitled just cuz I let him pay the cable bill. He thinks that gives him a right to remain. I told him to cancel that. But the lease is under my name. The shop's under my name. I just need assistance, man. All right. want to get him removed. I mean, I'll just trespass him as well. >> And then, uh, >> if he keeps bothering you, like you just don't want any contact with him. >> No, I just don't want him. >> You can go to I'm saying you can go to the courthouse, file an injunction as well. >> So, you can go file an injunction against him. >> Basically, a restraining order saying, "Hey, I don't want this guy anywhere near me. He keeps showing up at my work. I fired him. He keeps showing up." >> Okay. And >> that way, >> what's his temperament? >> Is he like a chill guy or? Uh, >> no. No, >> he can't be But he can't be upset. He can't be rough. He's upset. Um, >> I'm trying to avoid this. But if in our presence, don't worry, I'll be taking work. In our presence, if he decides that he's still not going to leave, that he's trespassing, and I will take him. >> Take him. Yeah. I mean, at this point, that's on him. I've already told him he's got to leave. >> Okay. >> Um, if you want to follow Yeah, I'll follow. I'll follow. Thank you. >> You're fired. >> You're just You're fired. >> You got to go. I got a trespass affidavit. This is my store, not yours. I need the keys to the shop and the vending machines. I'm not arguing with you. Just go. >> I'm not I'm not arguing with you either. But like, can I have can I have a minute? >> No. No. I'm tired of this. >> What the hell happened? >> I made a decision. You're fired. That's it. I'm not talking about it any further. You're fired. You got to go. I'll let you get your stuff. You can't come back here. >> So, just so you know where we're coming from, he's tell a message. >> He's the owner of the property. He's requesting that you return the keys and you leave the premises. Okay. >> Let let me call you right back. >> I don't want to argue with you. Just keep >> No. No. No. No. No. It's It's your argument. Um [ __ ] man. I I I understand. I understand that. >> There's There's nothing further to discuss. Just I I kindly ask that you grab your stuff. You got time to get your stuff if if you got to get your clippers and your tools and stuff and just return the keys and then make your way out. >> All right. This is this is more complicated than that. >> And I mean I understand it's your job on your livelihood, but he is the owner of the shop and the owner of the property. He he is the the lease is on his name. >> The shop license is on my name and all the equipment is mine as well. It's it's really complicated. We was doing this as a partnership and I owe him money and I have to pay and I'm working to do that. Like I I understand your frustration. >> Take a shot. You got to go. >> Hold on. Wait. Say it again. You said >> okay. This is this is a complicated thing. This this Okay, I understand his frustration. I owe him a money that I had to pay him. >> The lease of the barber shop is on his name. The the the license of the barber shop is under my name. >> What does he mean by the license of the barber shop? What does he mean? >> It's not. It's under police agreement. No one talking about the lease. Talking about the the the equipment. >> What? >> The the barber shop itself is mine. I bought the barber shop. The lease equipment is mine. You're not owners. Those never work. Louis insurance. That doesn't make you the owner. >> You have your ID on? >> Yes, sir. >> What? Come on, bro. >> I'm not going. I >> I know you're not using this money. You're taking money from me. You could have talked to me. >> How many times have we talked about this? >> And I told you I was going to go get the loan. You can go. You can go with me. >> I'm not worried about it. Keep it. >> You can go with me. >> Keep the money. I don't even care. >> Yeah. I mean, it's just it's just in his name. >> It's only in my name. >> It's just in his name. >> The the the license is not >> How much equipment does he have to get? >> He just says like >> No, it's not. No. No. Like at your chair. How much do you chair? >> What? like your chair. Is it like how much equipment? You just had a couple clippers, >> couple bottles, couple clippers. >> Yes. But >> so what you have to understand is we just need you to grab the your your stuff that you have there now. And if you need to come back later, you can call us. If there's something else you need to deal with, you can call us to stand by while you guys deal with it. But >> anything outside of you leaving the premise is going to be a civil matter. If you're saying that the some equipment is yours and not his, like that's something you guys are going to have hash out in court. >> Yes. I'm not going to put a machine and start an argument like I I know what's what's wrong and what's right in this and the business the deal I have with you. I know it took way longer than what it should. But I already have my appointment already. >> You want to work it out? We'll do it later. But right now, you have to go. >> Yeah. Okay. >> We'll talk later, but not now. I'm over it. >> I mean, >> do you want to go to the place now? Like, >> I was I had an appointment for Wednesday, but they're open now. >> I want you to leave. That's it. >> We just want you to leave. So, we just got to get your stuff >> and you got to bounce. Okay. >> The right way to do it. >> Yeah. Everything else can be dealt with later. Or since we're here and on body camera, he is giving you the chance to get your stuff and you're not taking it, we can just issue your trespass warrant. If you decide to come back, then you can go to jail for that. But for right now, we just need to get your property and leave the premise. All that other business stuff you guys can hash out at a later date and if you need to go to court, you can go to court. Not waters. We'll be going >> what's wrong with you? What? Talk about Can I come back for the stop another time? >> Yeah, you can come back. Just make sure you give us a call since you know there's a delicate situation going on. >> I need my keys, too. >> Yeah, keys and whatever you got to grab right now. I'm going to give you a fair warning, boss. We can't stay here all day. And we've asked you more than enough to get yourself and go. If we if we're going to play this whole stand here game, you can go to jail right now cuz we give you multiple chances to leave. You're right. As of now, you're trespassing property 365 days. Okay? >> If you come back to the property without calling us to get your belongings, you will be subject to arrest. Do you understand that? >> So, I just want us to as fast as we can. I'm not trying to be rude, but we got other calls holding. We got to get to our stuff. So, if you want to go in there and get your stuff, we'll stand by while you get your belongings for now. And you could always just give him a call. He said he'll help settle out with you later on down the road. >> So, as of now, you're trespassing. So, let's get your belongings and let's just go. Okay. >> That's all I'm asking. >> We'll go in there with you. We'll make sure nothing no funny stuff happens. We'll just get you stuff and go. Where does this uh they tell me where to post this? >> Here. >> Ideally on the inside. If you can get some tape and just post it to where it's facing this way. Cuz if you put it on the outside, somebody might take it down. Yeah, cuz it's only it's only sticky on the back. Yeah. >> Oh, it has to face this one. >> Yeah. Uh that's what I'm saying. If you put it >> Okay. >> Yeah. If you put it out here, some homeless person probably down. >> Okay. Okay. I'll I'll put that Nice little shop. >> Yeah. >> So, I'm sorry. I can't think about this stuff right now. I'm saying like this is going to be closed like [clears throat] >> I don't have to help me out. So, um, if you want to whenever you want to come back, if you got when you got boxes and stuff to take your stuff, just give us a call and we can come back and just stand by while you grab your stuff. If you can't take anything right now, then that's fine. Like, nobody's going to Is there um Well, I guess it's probably not going to fit in the drawers. >> We can have them help you and put it in your car. >> It's okay. Like um [music] we you call or whatever. >> Yeah. camera and stuff. >> Yes. >> Yeah. Anybody going to message me stuff? >> Issue or something? >> You got an ID on you real quick? I'm just going to get your information so I can give you a trespassing. So I remember when I was a kid long time ago. >> Appreciate it. All right. What's a good phone number for you? >> 813. >> Yep. >> 458 56 32. >> All right. Perfect. You're good to go, man. And if you do want to get some of your stuff now or if you want to come back later, like I said, just give us a call. >> I'll wait for a call, man. This is >> Okay. Just call us. This is going to take a while. This is this is not what it is. >> And it sounds like a civil matter. So like if you do have some stuff a lot of the stuff under your name, >> take like like you said, take them to court. >> Everything is on my name. >> Literally everything except the >> lease. Everything is on my name. >> Starting with the license that I just took. It's under my name. Everything is under my name. >> I got you. >> We just got to go. We just got to issue >> I would just go to court. Take them to court. >> Please. I'm going to go because I know I don't >> I'm not worrying about that. >> Yeah. >> Everything is >> everything is recorded. Yeah. >> That's what my camera is. It's like everything's everything is fine. >> Okay. Well, if you want to come back if you want to come back tomorrow or he said he'll give you you guys could talk a little later. >> Give it some time. Let both both sides let you guys both calm down a little or let him calm down a little bit and then see if you guys can squash it. >> He going to have to call himself cuz I mean >> Yeah. Yeah. I got you. I don't want to get, you know, like in trouble. >> I got you. >> For like calling the language, you know. >> Yeah, I hear you. Well, as of now, you're you're good to go. If you had to leave to go this way. >> Oh, I get it 100%. Yeah. >> That's crazy. >> Can't believe you get arrested. >> I got you. I just don't want to see you get arrested. You seem like a good guy. I just don't want you to come back and get arrested for some nonsense. >> I just found out about all this like literally 10 minutes ago. He sent me a text 10 minutes ago, told me I have to go back for like I'm done fine. Like >> Yeah. >> We be like best friends for like 8 years. >> I got you. >> And when I got when I grabbed this when I when I grabbed this place, um I needed some help. I was working here as a barber before we got the shot. And the deal was um that we was going to put the lease under his name only. And the the shop license and everything else under my name. And when I give him the money, then he helped me like for investment to start the the shop. Um cuz this was already a system shop. I was already working. >> Yeah. >> I've been working here since 2016. Um, so when I pay him that money back, I was going to get myself in the lease and eventually pull him out of the lease. >> And the way he's doing this, he's he think he's going to get me out. >> You You can't get me out. Like everything is on everything is mine here. Everything. I got all the proof. Like >> I got all the proof. >> Take him to I would definitely advise that you take him to court and get all your stuff back. I and >> but as of now I >> two weeks ago two two weeks ago um I had uh last week I had to pay my last card and he asked me if I can if he can go with me to my credit union federal to get a not >> and I say no cuz like that's kind of something person I really I really don't mind if he goes like I got appointment ready for Wednesday >> do you [music] want your copy of the trespass or no do you want the paper or no >> sure okay I'll give it to you >> I want to see >> just just to I'm going to give you it is 365 days okay so if you do come back without calling us. You got to call us. If you if you come back without calling us and we see you here, the cops are going to have to arrest you. >> What about if he authorizes me to come? >> Then I mean, I wouldn't trust you. I'd still call us just in case. What if he sets you up? I don't know him. I don't know you that well. I don't know him that well. What if he calls you here? Then he calls the cops and then cops you here and they arrest you. I don't know what beef you guys got right now or he's got with you. >> I don't have any like I'm saying what he's got with you. My phone like it's it's okay. Let me let let's pretend it's you for a second and this happens to you and a friend. >> You and your friend never have argument. >> Yeah. >> And 20 minutes ago, you just receive a text and you have to go. >> So I went like don't find like just call him right now. Like my kids mom leave with they all leave together. Like >> like this is this is Oh my god. This >> Give me a few minutes. I'm going to get that paper for you. Okay. Go ahead. >> Anything else? >> No, you're good, man. I48 G08. Show me at the Walmart on Hillsboro and uh show me out with a white male brake wearing a yellow shirt, black pants. Put me on the signal. Everything's 1049. So, he's waiting for He wants his copy. >> Of course he does. >> Yeah. So, I'm just going to write down his copy and then uh that I his 43 should be attached to the authorization. I'm just trying to find the authorization. >> My dad used to take him down the street and haircut like $5. >> Yeah. This place, >> these guys do good service, especially these guys. >> Yeah, they do. They do designs. >> A lot of women that come here, they get in the shape. >> Yeah. >> Design. >> But these days, it's uh $100. >> I know. During >> Yeah, >> during co when it was like limited it was 100 plus and it's funny though still coming like that. I go around that behead for a week if I got to the first time you want to get >> appreciate it. What's going on? >> I was really hoping everything that's a lot of stuff. He don't have a box and nowhere to put it. >> What's the uh number on that? Uh oh. Oh, okay. When you just got this? Yeah. Okay. I was hoping not to die. >> Yeah, you got you got >> So the one sticky thing is though with um But yeah, so you usually just got to face out though, right? >> Yeah, you want it facing out. But with plazas though, it's if you can get the owner I had to look it up. It may already have one. But if the owner of the plaza does a trespass authorization, it's stronger than one just >> I got to talk to. >> So like it they have to be like right here. >> [music] >> Yeah, man. Like I said, you don't want to get a cut, uh, get a business card. >> All right. [laughter] >> Yeah, good old business card. usually give a discount. >> Appreciate it. >> Yeah, I got you. >> How long have you been open? >> Oh, this place I inherited. I purchased this in 2020. Oh, the owner prior to me, he had it for 7 years before me. >> Okay. >> Yeah. And he sold it to me during COVID pandemic. He didn't want to lose. He didn't want to take a hit. >> I said, you know what? Let me take that off your hands. 25 G's cash. He said he wanted 40. We dropped it down to 25. Made a deal. It was uh like two markers at that time. Nobody was coming in. >> I trusted in him. I'm like, "Yo, listen to us. Let's make this, you know, build it up." >> I don't anticipate it's going to take money from me, but I guess you live and you learn. >> Yeah. >> Like business going to business people is tough, man. >> It's tough. It's tough. >> It's tough. How long have you known each other? I've known him since 2016. >> Okay. >> I even housed his family because uh we can't get an apartment, nothing. I let him stay in my place. Not him, but his family. >> Yeah. >> Because uh baby mama's got excavations. >> Kids are you know four kids the credit. So I helped him out just been taking so much advantage of me. I mean he's helping you so much. >> Yeah. There's a there's a limit. >> That's where I draw the line. Yeah. [music] He's saying he's going to like go over for the money owes his name to some 3 years. >> Oh, that's what he was trying to say. >> I said I'm over. >> So, was it like did you pay his half of the deal or something? >> No, I bought the whole thing. >> Oh, okay. >> I said, "Hey, if you can manage this, make a profit, make my return, I'll let you I give him a discount. You can I'll sign over a lease and everything." And he didn't pay. They were just taking money from me. Never gave me nothing. collecting booth rentals, not giving it to me. >> Purchasing stuff off of my booth rentals. I'm like, you realize I'm still the owner. >> Yeah, you don't. I'm telling everyone that he's the owner. Like, you're not the owner. >> What's your booth price? >> Oh, usually ranges from 200 a week. >> Yeah. >> When I got too many leaving, then we drop it down. You know what I mean? That's that's a couple cuts. They get that they get that two three >> cut on and shoot me out with a white briefing yellow shirt, black pants on if he needs anything. Okay. So, he's waiting for me. He wants to stop me. Of course it does. >> Yeah. So, I'm just going to write down his copy and see what's actually >> lawful possession turns on the lease, not the license. A barber board license gives you the right to cut hair legally. It does not give you a property interest in the location where you cut it. Those are two different legal instruments with two different legal effects. Most trespass statutes, Florida statute 810.08 is a representative example. Define the offense as willfully remaining in a structure after authorization has been withdrawn by the person in lawful possession. The leaseholder qualifies. Juan does not. Juan's defense is that this was never an employer employee relationship. He describes a verbal partnership the owner provided startup capital. Juan operated the shop and the plan was to transfer the lease once Juan repaid the investment. That is an oral contract claim. Completely legitimate, completely civil. Oral partnership agreements are enforcable under basic contract law when you can show offer acceptance and consideration. Juan has a shot if he has documentation, text messages, bank records, the licensing paperwork with his name on it. Those are his evidence. None of that helps him today. The officer gets this exactly right. He tells Juan anything outside of leaving the premises is a civil matter. That is not a brushoff. That is a legally precise statement. Officers have no authority to adjudicate contract disputes on scene. Attempting to do so would expose the department to liability. The civil criminal divide matters here. Trespass enforcement turns on one question. Who has lawful possession of the property at this moment? The answer is the leaseholder. Everything else, partnership agreements, unpaid debts, booth rental income, belongs in civil court. Around the 8 minute mark, Juan calls the owner a profane name. The officers do not react. That is the right call. Profanity directed at a private individual in a heated dispute is generally protected speech under the First Amendment. The Supreme Court made this clear in City of Houston versus Hill back in 1987. The insult is ugly. It is not criminal. Fighting words doctrine does exist. Speech that by its very utterance tends to provoke an immediate breach of the peace can cross the line. But courts have interpreted that doctrine narrowly. A profane insult during an argument with officers present and the situation controlled does not meet that threshold. Arresting Juan for the comment would have been a First Amendment violation. Now look at what the officer does before he even approaches Juan. He asks the owner about Juan's temperament. Is he the type to get physical? That question is not small talk. It is pre-cont threat assessment and it is required under the use of force continuum. The officer's approach, posture, tone, and proximity decisions all flow from the answer. Graham versus Connor decided in 1989 established that force decisions must be judged from the perspective of a reasonable officer at the moment of the decision, not with the benefit of hindsight. The officer here preloaded his threat model before contact. That is how you prevent a verbal dispute from becoming a physical one. Juan is visibly distressed. He received a termination text 10 minutes before arriving. His response is emotional but controlled. He argues. He pushes back. He drops one profanity. The officer gives him room to process. That is textbook deescalation. Allow ventilation. Maintain authority. Avoid corner. Pressing the subject. Here is something Juan reveals on camera that will matter in civil court. He says he was collecting booth rental income between $100 and $200 per barber per week and apparently not remitting those proceeds to the owner. If the owner can prove that that is a conversion claim, exercising unauthorized control over another person's funds, conversion does not require intent to steal. It requires an unauthorized act of dominion over another's property. Juan collecting rent from other barbers and keeping it if he lacked authority to do so under the partnership arrangement creates civil liability independent of the trespass itself. He gave that information voluntarily on body cam. The owner also makes a statement on camera that cuts the other direction. He acknowledges the arrangement took longer than it should and that Juan owes him money. That admission corroborates Juan's claim that a financial obligation exists. In civil litigation, both parties just handed the other side useful material. The officer issues a 365day trespass warning. The effect is immediate. From that point forward, Juan's presence on the property without prior authorization constitutes a separate criminal act. No longer a civil dispute, but a prosecutable offense. The warning converts the relationship between Juan and the property from civil to criminal for any future contact. One tactical detail worth noting, the officer advises Juan to call police before returning, even if the owner verbally authorizes it. That is sound advice. A verbal okay from the owner does not override a written trespass warning in most jurisdictions. And if the relationship has soured this badly, a verbal invitation followed by a 911 call is a real setup risk. The officer also discusses getting a trespass authorization from the plaza's property owner, not just the shop tenant. That distinction matters. A shop level trespass covers the interior of the unit. A plaza level authorization from the landlord covers the parking lot common areas and the full property footprint. Broader coverage, stronger enforcement. There is one thing neither officer does that both should have. Nobody advises either party to preserve their evidence. Text messages get deleted. Bank records get overlooked. The barbershop license document the original purchase agreement for $25,000. All of it needs to be secured before a civil filing. A 10-second reminder costs nothing. Failing to give it here potentially costs Juan or the owner their entire case. Juan's core civil argument has real legs. He has worked at this location since 2016. He holds the operating license. He can document the financial arrangement at least partially. Courts in Florida and comparable jurisdictions have upheld oral business partnerships where the parties conduct financial records and communications consistently corroborate the claimed deal. This is not a frivolous claim. The owner's strongest asset is the lease. His weakest position is the on camera statement that things took longer than they should. That phrase, combined with the acknowledgement that Juan owes him money, could be read by a civil court as confirmation that a repayment obligation existed, which is exactly the kind of evidence Juan needs to establish the partnership. Words matter in recorded encounters. Now, the grades. The officer gets an A minus. He identified the civil criminal boundary precisely, deescalated a volatile situation over 24 minutes without any use of force, issued the trespass correctly, and gave both parties genuinely useful legal guidance. The deduction is for the missed evidence preservation advisement. That gap is small, but real. The owner gets a B+. Calling police instead of attempting to remove Juan himself was the right move. Physically removing someone from a disputed property without law enforcement present exposes you to assault, battery, and wrongful removal claims regardless of who holds the lease. He gave officers a clear, accurate account, but his on camera statements about the financial arrangement were strategically costly. Juan gets a B. He complied fully with the trespass process, provided ID, accepted paperwork left without resistance. That cooperation prevented an arrest, and preserved his credibility for civil litigation. The deduction comes from speaking at length without counsel. He disclosed the partnership structure, the repayment plan, the booth rental arrangement, all useful to him in court, but also giving the other side a preview. Lessons. First, the lease and the business license are not the same document. If you invest in a business with someone, get a written operating agreement that specifies ownership percentages, repayment terms, and what happens if the relationship ends. A handshake deal between friends, no matter how long the friendship creates exactly the kind of ambiguity on display here. Second body cam footage is evidence. Both sides in this dispute made statements on camera that a civil attorney will use. Before you speak freely in front of law enforcement, understand that everything said is potentially admissible in a subsequent civil proceeding. You are not under arrest. You are not being interrogated. You are also not off the record. Third, collecting business income without documentation is a liability. If you are running a booth rental operation and the money is going through, you keep records every payment, every week. Booth renters who pay in cash, partners who expect a return, all of it needs paper. The absence of records does not protect you. It just makes both sides claims harder to prove. Fourth, trespass enforcement and civil ownership disputes are parallel tracks. A trespass warning does not resolve who owns the business. One can be trespassed today and win the civil lawsuit next year. The owner can hold the lease and lose the business in court. These outcomes are not contradictory. They operate under different bodies of law. Fifth, if you are one in this situation, trespass from a property you believe you have a legal interest in. Do not go back without law enforcement present. Do not accept a verbal invitation to return without getting it documented. Call an attorney before you call your former partner. The civil case is winnable. An unauthorized return arrest is not a good way to start it. Sixth, for officers handling civil adjacent trespass calls. The civil dispute does not eliminate your authority to enforce criminal trespass, but it does require you to separate the two clearly on camera every time. The officer here did that well. The standard he set is the right one. Seventh, and this applies broadly, 8 years of friendship and $25,000 in startup capital did not produce a single written document. That is the real lesson. Business relationships need contracts, not because you distrust the other person, because agreements made when people like each other need to survive the moment when they do not. The outcome here is unknown at the time of this analysis. No arrest was made. No charges were filed. What is known is that one man walked out with a trespass warning and the other stayed behind in a shop he may or may not legally own depending on what a civil court eventually decides. Both men had a strong case for part of their claim. Neither had the documentation to prove the whole thing. That is not a law enforcement failure. That is what happens when business partners skip the paperwork and assume friendship is enough. It rarely is. Let us know if there is an interaction or legal topic you would like discussed in the comments below. Thank you for watching and do not forget to check out our channel for more police interaction and courtroom content.