Adelaide Greek fruit shop owner and teen son pepper-sprayed after threatening to destroy ALDI sign

A well-known Greek greengrocer claims he was ‘wrongfully accused’ of indecent exposure during a showdown with police which had him ‘fearing for his life’.

St Bernards Fruit and Veg Market owner John Kapiris has shared extraordinary footage of the confrontation at his Adelaide business on Friday, which has prompted an internal police review.

The video shows him and his 15-year-old son embroiled in a heated and expletive-filled exchange with police before being pepper sprayed and handcuffed.

Mr Kapiris claims police attended his Rostrevor business in Adelaide’s north-east on Friday while investigating reports of a man exposing himself several kilometres away.

He told Daily Mail Australia he had been not been in the vicinity of the reported incident but acknowledged he had been staging photos for his famous ‘dropped-pants specials’ in front of a Aldi sign recently erected in front of his business.

The popular shop owner is known for the amusing skits, where he takes his trousers off to entertain customers – but always leaves his underwear on.

Mr Kapiris explained he was wearing underwear while staging the photos. 

He was charged with a series of offences including indecent exposure, disorderly behaviour, resisting police and refusing to provide his name and address.

Mr Kapiris vowed to fight all the charges when he appears in court in May and also plans to sue police. 

‘I’ve been wrongly accused of a crime that I didn’t do,’ he said. 

‘They thought I was the suspect but our cameras will show I was here all day.

‘I was being nice to them at the start but they didn’t want to listen and started pushing me. That rubbed me up the wrong way.

‘I have the upmost respect for police but what they did was very unfair.’

Mr Kapiris claimed he feared for his life during the confrontation where he suffered asthma and panic attacks.

John Kapiris (pictured during the confrontation with police) told Daily Mail Australia he will fight all the charges when he faces court in May

The footage shows an officer demanding him to place his hands behind his back and begins pushing Mr Kapiris.

The business owner’s 15-year-old son is seen rushing to jump to his father’s defence as the pair are pepper-sprayed.

The boy can be seen running away wincing in agony. 

‘I would have rather been zapped with a taser rather than be pepper-sprayed,’ Mr Kapiris told Daily Mail Australia.

‘Three days later, my hands are still burning.

‘It left me very shaken. I suffer from very bad asthma and anxiety.

‘I thought I was going to die.’

Mr Kapiris’ 15-year-old son was pepper-sprayed which rushing to his father’s defence

Prior to his arrest, John Kapiris said he had been staging photos for his dropped-pants specials’ in front of recently-erected Aldi sign (pictured) near his business

He has called on South Australian Police to better train their officers. 

It’s been a stressful few days for the well-known businessman after an Aldi sign was erected on a bus shelter outside his store.

He took aim at the supermarket giant in a fiery 45-second video last Thursday, telling them they had 48 hours to remove the poster or he’d ‘burn it’ down or ‘rip it off with a forklift’.

Mr Kapiris insists he never caused any damage to the Aldi sign which has since mysteriously been removed, much to his relief.

But he admitted business has been quiet in recent days, prompting him to post another video to hit back at the public backlash he’s copped online since the confrontation with police.

SA Police has launched an internal review which will include reviewing footage from officers’ body-worn cameras.

Daily Mail Australia contacted South Australia Police for comment, which is yet to respond. 

John Kapiris (pictured) is one of Adelaide’s best known fruit and vegetable grocers