When Yasmine James started her shift on New Year’s Eve at the St. Petersburg, Florida, McDonald’s little did she know what the evening had in store for her.
In a reported dispute over a straw she had her clothes grabbed and was nearly pulled over the counter by a violent customer. As someone recorded the incident Yasmine did something that nobody expected. The shocking video quickly went viral.
The man who grabbed Yasmine has been identified in local media reports as 40-year-old Daniel Taylor.
Kinie Biandudi filmed the altercation and shared the shocking footage on social media.
“The young girl was heard saying she used to box. After this fight he came back and went behind the counter & tried to fight the manager,” Biandudi wrote on Facebook.
Turned the tables
In the viral video, which has since been published by a number of media outlets as well as YouTube, the man grabs the young worker by the shirt and tries to pull her across the counter.
Little did he know this girl could fight!
She then throws continuous punches at him to get him off her, while her co workers try and intervene, none as fierce as this lady though.
Police arrested the man, who they recognized from the McDonald’s video, and charged him with two counts of simple battery. He is being held in Pinellas County Jail in lieu of $1,000 bail, according to The Tampa Bay Times.
According to Yasmine James’ attorney Michele Rayner-Goolsby, as of Jan 4 the McDonald’s corporation has yet to release a statement about the incident and has placed Ms. James on leave, as reported in The Tampa Bay Times.
‘Defend themselves’
Rayner-Goolsby said in a news release, “This case is a clear example of how white privilege and male privilege too often leave Black women alone to defend themselves in the face of harm.”
Watch the shocking incident in the video below.
[arve url=”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykH4UvIKCUA” /]
Share this story to highlight how we must stand up and defend those who are attacked without provocation, those that are just doing their job.
Nobody deserves to be treated this way.
