A graphic video has emerged online showing a brutal fight between a Minneapolis McDonald’s drive-thru employee and a customer on Monday night.
According to the Star Tribune , the fight erupted after the customer got upset because it took an employee a while to make change for the $100 bill he used to pay for a $3 sandwich.
The 67-second footage showing the McDonald’s employee and the customer exchanging blows at the McDonald’s outlet on Stinson Boulevard in the Quarry shopping district, northeastern Minneapolis, was filmed on cell phone by Gabe Hart, a customer who was next in line at the time.
Hart said he pulled in to the drive-thru for a Big Mac and noticed that the customer in front of him looked very upset.
“I hadn’t eaten much since lunch time, and I was driving by a McDonald’s, so I thought I’d just swing in and pick up a Big Mac. At first I was annoyed the guy in front of me was taking so long, he seemed pretty upset to begin with.”
He said that after waiting a while, an employee appeared at the window to hand the customer change but dropped some of it. For some reason, the employee’s clumsiness incensed the customer, who got out of his car and spit in the employee’s face and then tried to punch him.
“At first I was annoyed the guy in front of me was taking so long,” Hart wrote. “He seemed pretty upset to begin with, but it looked like when the McDonald’s guy handed him his cash and change back he dropped some of the dude’s change. That’s when he got out of his car, spit on the drive-through window and tried to punch the McDonald’s [worker] and that’s when I started recording.”
The video was posted to Liveleak and went viral immediately.
It shows the McDonald’s employee, Bernard Robinson III, 22, leaning out through the window and exchanging blows with a customer. The customer grabs Robinson by the tie and pulls, nearly choking him as he tries to drag him out of the window with the tie. As the customer pulls, Robinson punches the customer in the head repeatedly.
A female employee appears as Robinson yells, “Man, he got my m*********** tie.”
The female employee tries to rescue her colleague. Moments later she says she is going to call the police.
Robison grabs the customer and pulls him, saying, “Get you a*** in here.”
The two exchange blows and angry words, and Robinson can be heard saying, “When you let go of my tie, I’m f****** you up.”
But the customer holds on to Robinson’s tie and continues pulling. Robinson leans out of the window punching the customer in the head. The customer finally falls to the ground but continues pulling on Robinson’s tie and aims a kick at his head from the ground.
Robinson later told the Star Tribune that he suffered bruises to his neck. He said he needed to help an employee make change for the customer’s $100 bill.
“I guess the guy was ticked that it took so long. He was blabbing, and the change was dropping out of his hand.”
He said the customer got out of his car and spit in his face.
“I’m arguing with the guy, one of my crew tries to close the window, and he pushes it open. He grabbed my tie, and he’s trying to get me out of the window. He was choking me… I was fighting for my life.”
The customer calmed down after police arrived. He was arrested and cited for misdemeanor assault. Police did not release his identity, but the Star Tribune confirmed that he was a 31-year-old Minneapolis man.
According to the Daily Mail , McDonald’s management released a statement.
“We are aware of the concerning incident involving an employee and a customer earlier this week. We are working with the local police in their investigation of this matter.”
[Image via Gabe Hart/ Liveleak ]