A violent altercation unfolded at a Miami Planet Fitness last Friday, in what became a heated encounter between a gym employee and a member. As CBS News Miami reported, the employee was brutally attacked by 35-year-old Kiara Bryant in the Little Havana location after he had asked her to lower her voice.
The situation escalated quickly, surveillance footage capturing Bryant as she began to get irate with the employee. The City of Miami Police Department stated that the victim had pushed Bryant in an act of self-defense after she was "constantly aggressive towards him while balling her fists." The entire ordeal was not strictly limited inside the gym; Bryant was also seen in a video trying, but failing, to escape in her car before encountering bystanders in the parking lot, as noted by CBS News Miami.
According to the victim's attorney, Alecsander Kohn, who spoke with CBS News Miami, "She took things too far, brutally battered our client, and ultimately, left him in the hospital with a broken nose and severe emotional distress." As it stands, Bryant was arrested and charged with battery and disorderly conduct and has since bonded out of jail.
Additional footage posted on social media shows a further side of the incident, as outlined by WSVN. In the video, Bryant is seen jumping over the customer service counter and repeatedly punching the employee. She later engaged with people in the parking lot, aggressively trying to fight them all at once until police arrived on the scene.
Planet Fitness has responded to the incident by stating, "The safety of our employees and members is our top priority, and we have zero tolerance for violence of any kind in our clubs. We are committed to providing a safe environment. The franchise group worked closely with local police and have cancelled the member in question," as obtained by CBS News Miami.
