DECATUR, Ga. (WSAV) – A customer is suing the manager and staff at a Popeyes in Georgia for allegedly pulling out her hair when she tried to correct her order.
The restaurant Decatur is also named in the suit.
“That night I just wanted to get some food for my kids,” Denetra Dawson said at a news conference on Friday. “I didn’t – I still don’t get it. Why me? I didn’t think I would make it back to my kids.”
According to attorney Mawuli Davis of the Davis Bozeman law firm, the incident happened on September 3, 2022, when Dawson was ordering a 12-piece box of chicken at the restaurant. She received the wrong order, Davis said, and when she pulled up to the thoroughfare window to correct the order, things escalated.
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Davis said the manager, Tenister Evans, and two associates related to her, Tenice Taylor and Zariah Evans, were upset and came out in the drive-through line to force her to move her vehicle.
“She was hit, punched, scratched and tried to choke,” the attorney said. He showed photos of Dawson with one of her braids torn from her scalp.
“They’re in full assault mode with three uniformed Popeyes employees in the drive-through,” Davis said.
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The attack apparently continued until Dawson grabbed her licensed firearm.
Police were called to the scene and arrested Taylor and Zariah Evans for assault and Tenister Evans for obstructing a police officer.
The lawsuit alleges that Popeyes created an environment that puts pressure on its employees to keep the line moving and, at worst, could cause some workers to become aggressive. Also, Popeyes is failing in his responsibility to train the three employees.
The lawsuit seeks damages for Dawson, but does not name a dollar amount. That, Davis said, should be decided in court.
