New details have emerged about an alleged racist attack in Courtenay, B.C. captured on video.  Friends of the three men say the YouTube video doesn't tell the whole story.

The disturbing video that was first broadcast on CTV News on Monday, has been viewed on YouTube more than 100,000 times. The amateur footage shows a fight in Courtenay, B.C. that police suspect was racially motivated.

The video shows 38-year-old Courtenay resident Jay Phillips being surrounded, then kicked and punched by three men in a parking lot.

All three have now been arrested.  The alleged attackers are aged from 19 to 25.

Phillips says the men shouted racial slurs at him before the fight began.  Racial slurs can be heard on the video. 

But friends of the three accused told CTV British Columbia's Lisa Rossington that a cheeseburger was tossed into the truck they were driving before the fight broke out.

Meanwhile, video of the incident has sickened many residents of the tiny Vancouver Island community.

"It's an outrage. I can't believe things like that are going on in our community,'' said a woman who spoke to CTV News.

"I think it's unacceptable,'' added another resident. "It was three against one. It wasn't a fair fight."

As Courtenay prepares to host a music festival this weekend, anti-racism activists are planning to hold a rally this week to show that racist behaviour is not acceptable in the area.

However, in a strange coincidence, Courtenay city council turned down an initiative Monday to curb racial discrimination and hate crime. The report was drafted because of several incidents which have occurred over the last few years.

It had the support of dozens of community groups, but not council.

"The language is confusing. We are in favour of what it stands for, but it's confusing,'' said Courtenay Mayor Greg Phelps.

Phelps says he was flooded with emails when he got to work on Tuesday morning.

That's when he saw the video with his own eyes. Now he wants a stronger policy.

"I saw it and my mouth just dropped and hung open on the floor. I felt like puking,'' he said.

"They wanted to come in and deal with this because they realized this is something that does need to be dealt with. It's not going to go away,'' said RCMP Const. Tammy Douglas.

It is still unclear whether police will try to prosecute the case as a hate crime, which garnishes a heftier punishment.

Phillips says it was an unprovoked attack from strangers.

But police are still investigating. Although they can't assure the public this sort of thing won't happen again, the residents of Courtenay want everyone to know this is not a true sign of their community.

With a report by CTV British Columbia's Lisa Rossington and Norma Reid