Can You Believe It?
Paris, TX (WorkersCompensation.com) – Employees sick of being the target of customers’ attacks are fighting back, in some instances.
Employees at a Texas Whataburger used a trash can and a fry basket to fend off an attack by a drunk customer.
Officials in Paris, Texas said Anthony William Newhuis was ordered out of the Whataburger last month. Employees told police officers he had stormed out of the store but vowed to return later when the cops had left and assault the manager.
Not long after, Newhuis allegedly charged back into the restaurant and made good on his promise.
But another customer’s cell phone recorded the scene when the manager fought back. Video showed the manager swinging a trash can at Newhuis as workers yelled that someone needed to press the panic button. Another worker then hit Newhuis on the head with a wire fry basket which dropped the attacker to the floor.
When police arrived, they found Newhuis bleeding from the head in the restaurant’s parking lot. He was arrested and charged with assault, public intoxication and criminal mischief.
Whataburger said they are looking into the matter, and that the restaurant’s first priority is employee and guest safety.
“We take incidents such as this seriously and are fully cooperating with authorities,” the spokesperson said.
The incident is similar to the reaction from other employees in the service industry tired of being attacked at work.
In Connecticut, a brawl broke out in December between Chipotle workers and an unruly customer. Footage of the event showed a customer at the register throwing things at an employee working behind the line at the restaurant. The fight involved at least two customers and several employees, and happened at the West Hartford, Conn., store.
When the worker retaliated by throwing something back, the customer lunged over the counter and attacked one of the workers. Video showed the customer wrestling with several employees and another customer joining in the fight.
Officials with Chipotle sided with their employees.
“At Chipotle, the health and safety of our employees and our guests is our highest priority,” Laurie Schalow, Chipotle’s chief corporate affairs officer, said in a statement. “We have zero tolerance for guests who mistreat our employees and fail to give them the respect they deserve.”
The company said it was working with police in their investigation of the fight. Since then, two people were arrested – a 26-year-old man from Waterbury, and a 26-year-old woman from Ansonia, and charged with third-degree assault and second-degree breach of peace.
But other workers continue to be assaulted at work.
On Feb. 21, a 65-year-old man was arrested for punching his server.
According to police in Joliet, Ill., Robert Weathers struck an employee after the employee checked on him at his table. The employee said Weathers had not paid his bill. A review of the restaurant’s surveillance video showed Weathers slap a wallet out of the employee’s hand twice before hitting him in the chest with a closed fist.
Weathers also refused to comply with officers’ commands, and he was taken into custody after a brief struggle. Police charged Weathers with battery and obstructing a peace officer.
In Manhattan, one worker was attacked with a gallon of water.
NYPC said they are looking for a man who entered a bodega at 94 Avenue B in the East Village around 10 p.m. on Feb. 16. Officials said the suspect tried to make a purchase inside the store, but got into an argument with the 68-year-old employee.
The conflict escalated and the suspect grabbed a gallon jug of water which he used to attack the clerk with. The employee was hit several times in the face with the water jug.
After attacking the worker, the suspect fled the scene on foot, police said.
The victim suffered pain, redness and swelling, but refused medical attention at the scene.
In Pembroke, N.C. police said they have arrested a man for assaulting and kidnapping an employee at a McDonald’s.
Pembroke Police Chief Adrian Hunt said the attack happened around 5 a.m. on Thursday, Feb. 18.
“During the morning hours shortly after 5:00 a.m. today, officers with the Pembroke Police Department responded to a reported domestic assault involving a firearm at the McDonald’s located within the Town of Pembroke,” Hunt said in a press release. “Upon arrival, officers secured the scene and took the suspect into custody without further incident. The victim, a McDonald’s employee and former domestic partner of the suspect, sustained injuries and was transported to a local hospital for medical treatment.”
Hines was charged with attempted first-degree murder, assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious bodily injury, first-degree kidnapping, second-degree kidnapping, going armed to the terror of the people, discharge of a firearm within an enclosure to incite fear, two counts of injury to real property, possession of a firearm by a felon, discharging a firearm within city limits, and domestic assault.
