Video of Cape Cod bar manager spewing racial slurs goes viral. What we know.

Millyan Phillips' week-long Cape Cod vacation came to a nightmarish end on Thursday after he said he was verbally assaulted by a racist diatribe from local businessman John Shea of Trader Ed's in Hyannis.

"I tried to just stay calm and make it through the night without anyone getting hurt," Phillips, of Medford, said Monday.

Videos of the altercation were posted across social media sites. One was viewed at least 179,000 times on one Instagram account alone as of Tuesday morning.

Shea was listed as Trader Ed's manager in a 2020 Barnstable Licensing Authority document. He could not be reached by phone and did not respond to two messages sent by the Times to his Facebook Messenger account requesting an interview. Trader Ed's owner Wayne Kurker did not immediately return a request for comment. A lawyer who has represented the company in the past also did not immediately return a reporter's call.

Barnstable police Lt. Mark Mellyn confirmed an altercation between Shea and Phillips did occur, and said it is being investigated by a Barnstable Police Department civil rights officer. Because the investigation is ongoing, information could not be released, he said. The Cape and Islands District Attorney's office is also investigating, according to a press release sent out Tuesday afternoon.

In three videos Phillips provided to the Times, Shea is seen walking down Main Street in Hyannis and confronting Phillips using words that included a racist slur. The altercation came after Phillips contacted police out of concern that Shea was driving under the influence of alcohol.In the first video, Shea said, "You don't know who I am. Get the (expletive) out of my town," as he points his finger in Phillips' face.

"Use my name again and you'll end up in the grave — you and all your friends," said Shea. "I just called you (a raciest slur). Why? Because you act like one."

In a separate video, Shea steps on Phillips' foot and casually calls Phillips an (expletive) (a racist slur). As he walks away, Shea said to Phillips: "You'll get shot in the head."

When the threats became violent, Phillips called police again, he said, and Embargo Restaurant bouncers took Shea into the restaurant and bar.

"I wanted to press charges but police said none of what Shea said was grounds to do so," said Phillips. Police let Shea leave the scene in a ride-share vehicle.

"All of his behavior was unacceptable," said Phillips, who identifies as Jamaican and Armenian.

Behavior began earlier in the evening

During the evening, Phillips, 24, and his friends went to Trader Ed's, at 21 Arlington St., for dinner and drinks. The group of three were the last patrons in the restaurant when they decided to take a car service to Embargo at 453 Main St. in Hyannis.

Just before the ride arrived, said Phillips, Shea walked into Trader Ed's and ordered a vodka soda. The group could see that the car Shea came out of was still running and was parked sideways in the parking lot, Phillips said.

When the group left Trader Ed's, they called 911 and alerted the emergency dispatcher to Shea's alleged drinking and driving. The dispatcher, according to Phillips, said police would check on the situation.

About 40 minutes later, the group noticed Shea walk into Embargo, and order drinks. It was at that time, said Phillips, the group decided to leave Embargo. As they walked out the front door, they noticed police assisting a woman who had fallen on the sidewalk outside the establishment. While Barnstable police officers were on scene, Phillips approached them and shared his concern that Shea was allegedly drinking and driving.

"I just didn't want John Shea to hurt anyone — that was really the only reason I said something," said Phillips.

Roughly ten minutes later, as Phillips and his friends waited for their car service to arrive, Shea came looking for Phillips.

"He came out the door and said, 'Where's (a racist slur) from Boston? Where's (a racist slur) from Boston," said Phillips. "He turned the corner and got in my face and started threatening me."

Madilynn Galloway, Phillips’ girlfriend, said Phillips was aggressively targeted by Shea, which prompted her to record the incidents on her cell phone.

“It became scarier and scarier,” said Galloway.

The recordings were a way to hold Shea accountable for his actions, said Galloway.

“Mr. Shea clearly holds power and leverage in what goes on in ‘his town,’” she said.

No man or woman of any color or race should be treated the way Phillips was treated, said Galloway.

“It was absolutely heinous,” she said. “This situation isn’t a possible hate crime. It is a hate crime.”

The video has been shared widely across social media platforms

On Facebook, Shant Melkonian, a friend of Phillips', posted the video to his page. In the comments under the video, Trader Ed's Facebook account posted an apology, which has since been removed.

"This is not my character and I will apologize to your friend too," Trader Ed's posted in the Facebook comments, which the Times has screenshots of.

In the same Facebook comment, Trader Ed's accused Phillips of talking about pedophiles and referring to photos of Shea's daughter that are inside Trader Ed's, which the Trader Ed's commenter said was disturbing.

Phillips denied the accusation.

"Even if I did call him a pervert — which I didn't — that's not a reason for him to act like that," said Phillips.

The Trader Ed's account texted Melkonian through Facebook Messenger and asked him to take down the video, according to texts of the exchange shared with the Times.

"I'm honestly really proud of my friend (Phillips) for staying calm and not resorting to violence," said Melkonian.

For Phillips, the experience was frustrating. The police did nothing to help him, he said, and he felt he should have been better protected.

"If the roles had been reversed, I'm positive the outcome would be different. It was pretty disappointing," he said.

Rachael Devaney writes about community and culture. Reach her at rdevaney@capecodonline.com. Follow her on Twitter: @RachaelDevaney.

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