Source: BEN STANSALL / Getty
A Black woman in Ohio is recovering in a hospital after being beaten up by a police over a botched order at McDonald’s. The incident was recorded on video and the officers involved have not been fired despite the brutal nature of the encounter over a Big Mac.
On Monday, Latinka Hancock ordered a Big Mac with extra cheese in Butler Township. After the restaurant gave her the order she quickly noticed that there was no extra cheese on her burger. That’s when things began to spiral out of control.
Her complaints to the burger joint quickly escalated into a heated argument, which is when the restaurant workers claim they were forced to call the police. After law enforcement arrived, the disagreement essentially turned into a brawl.
In the video obtained by TMZ, two officers are forcibly detaining Hancock, seemingly attempting to arrest her. That’s when one of the cops repeatedly punched her in the head before forcing her into cuffs. The guy holding the camera ran out to the parking lot and asked the officers “Why’d you punch her?” He didn’t get a response.
The police report said Hancock, 31, was bleeding from her mouth, according to the Dayton Daily News.
On Wednesday Hancock made her first public comments about the police violence.
From the Dayton Daily News:
Hancock, represented by attorney Michael Wright, of Wright and Shultze, and accompanied by Dayton Unit NAACP President Derrick Foward, also held a press event on Wednesday.
“I want to be clear that this incident should have never occurred in the first place. McDonald’s should be ashamed for resorting to calling the police over a disagreement over an order they got wrong,” Wright said. “If they can’t manage basic customer service, opting to potentially put a person’s life in jeopardy over a mishandled Big Mac, it doesn’t seem safe for Black people to and eat at McDonald’s anymore.”
A visibly shaking Hancock answered questions during the press conference, at times becoming emotional.
“I’m glad that I’m able to be here to be honest. I don’t want people to feel like I’m complaining over a piece of cheese,” she said. “I went in with good intentions. I came with everything; I brought back the sandwich, the fries and the receipt … I want(ed) either the sandwich or my money back.”
Hancock said she witnessed an interaction between the manager of the store and the employee who had come to the cash register to request she pay the additional fee, during which the manager instructed the employee to remake the sandwich.
“So you went out of your way to not do what was asked, then you want me to leave?” Hancock said, adding that she did subsequently leave to “decompress” in the parking lot prior to police arrival.
“I made sure that I at least tried to show that my demeanor wasn’t threatening,” she said.
Meanwhile, one of the police officers involved — Sgt. Todd Stanley — have been placed on administrative leave, which means they’re still getting paid while they’re being investigated for the cut-and-dry case of excessive force in a nonviolent situation where no force was required.
According to the Associated Press, Stanley wasn’t placed on leave over the incident. Rather, it was because residents had been initiating “a lot of hate emails and phone calls.”
The other officer, Tim Zellers, remains on active duty.
This is America.
SEE ALSO:
Video Shows NYPD Cop Brutally Beating 12-Year-Old Girl’s Head Outside School
Video Shows Keenan Anderson Was ‘Tased To Death’ By LAPD
Not Fired: Ohio Cops On Video Brutally Beating Black Woman Over Big Mac Keep Their Jobs was originally published on wzakcleveland.com
