Woman Who Recorded McDonald's Customer Attacking Worker Speaks Out
"If someone put hands on you, you have to defend yourself. We need to just treat each other right."
A video of an irate white customer at a Florida McDonald's grabbing a female worker by the shirt over a straw made the rounds on social media, and the woman who recorded the altercation is speaking out about what occurred.
In an interview with The Grio, Brenda Biandudi initially didn't want the video to get out. However, after police found it difficult to find Daniel Taylor, the 41-year-old who attacked Yasmine James, Biandudi's son and daughter posted it on their respective social media accounts.
“I didn’t want (the video) to be out there, but when I was asking the police if he had been caught, they said that they couldn’t find him,” she said. "When they started getting loud, I had my phone in my hand and I figured I would take a recording in case somebody needed something. I didn’t know how much of an effort was being put into finding him [by police].”
In the video, Taylor reportedly got upset when he had to ask for a straw. In Florida, a law is in effect restricting restaurants from putting plastic straws in their lobbies. Ms. James, who is the mother of a two-year-old, reacted to the attack by throwing punches at Taylor in self-defense, nailing several of them.
Biandudi recalls that Taylor returned later to the establishment just a few minutes after the altercation to confront the manager. He also reportedly kicked another female employee in the stomach while she stood near the exit, and he was escorted out by the workers.
“Our highest priority is always the safety and well-being of our employees and customers at our restaurants,” McDonald’s spokeswoman Keisha Boyd said in a statement. “We have been in contact with the police department and are fully cooperating with their investigation.”
“People need to treat others the way they want to be treated,” Biandudi stated regarding the attack. “If he put his hands on (my kids), then go ahead and defend yourself. You should try to avoid physical confrontation, but if someone put hands on you, you have to defend yourself. We need to just treat each other right.”
READ MORE: New York Woman Waves Gun At McDonald’s Manager Over Wait For Fries
