The Canadian city of Winnipeg doesn’t take too kindly to car theft. When 36-year-old Michael Prince tried to swipe a ride parked in a grocery store parking lot, eight of the store’s employees reportedly beat the would-be thief to a pulp. Now, that man is suing the “supervisor and/or owner/operator” of Dino’s Food Mart.

No one would argue that Prince messed up. On a cold February day in the province of Manitoba, he stole a jacket hanging in the store and took it back to his home. He discovered a wallet and car keys inside. Thirty minutes later, he returned to the store, unlocked the door, and climbed inside.

I’m not sure what Prince was planning. The lawsuit admits he was trying to steal the car but adds that it was blocked in by other parked vehicles. Regardless, he triggered the alarm. That’s when eight employees rushed outside and jumped him.

Store employees reportedly beat up a car thief

The lawsuit claims these employees “punched, kicked and hit him repeatedly.” They even hit him in the head with a hammer. He blacked out and doesn’t remember running home. He does remember that the employees followed the trail of blood he left in the snow and arrived at his home. “But he had no further interaction with them.”

Prince’s brother called 911, and Prince spent the next 24 hours in the hospital. Then he was arrested and charged with attempted car theft by the Winnipeg Police. The lawsuit claims he spent a month in jail before the police bothered to take his statement.

The lawsuit claims Prince still suffers from a list of health issues after the beating. It argues, “The amount of force used against him was far in excess of what was necessary to execute a citizen’s arrest or detain him pending the arrival of law enforcement personnel.”