Here is the body camera footage of this outrageous wrongful arrest of a Black couple @WaffleHouse. They were arrested for theft & trespassing. They never even received the food. They were overcharged a $1.50 for an orange juice and asked to call customer service. pic.twitter.com/c7a74NhKoH
— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) June 13, 2018
Waffle House is back in the headlines this week after police were called on a Florida couple accused of theft and trespassing at the popular eatery.
Police body cam video shared by writer/activist Shaun King shows the couple, who’s Black, being confronted by police as they’re trying to pay for their food. When officers arrive, the couple is heard explaining that they were simply waiting to receive the “1-800” number to the company’s customer service line officer after they were overcharged $1.50 for orange juice.
No, this Black couple didn't eat and refuse to pay.
They never even ate. They never received their food.
That's why the charges were dropped. It's not theft.
They simply wanted clarity on why they were overcharged a $1.50.
$1.50.
Weapons drawn. Brutal arrests.
$1.50. https://t.co/WI3yKPxUuq
— Shaun King (@shaunking) June 13, 2018
“Get outta here!” a responding officer shouts at the man, who was on the phone at the time. “You should come out here and talk to me like a man.”
The couple eventually walks outside the restaurant, saying they’d pay for their bill once officers were done questioning them. The officer who asked them to come outside and “talk” then claims he’d be done with them once they paid their bill.
“No, you told us to come out here and talk and so that’s what we’re doing,” the woman responds. Her boyfriend then engages in a back-and-forth with police, all while his hands are high in the air.
The couple explains they intend to pay their bill, but only after Waffle House removed the surcharge for the orange juice. They said the waitress refused to explain why their bill was so high and called police when they asked for the number to customer service.
“Well if you don’t pay your bill, you’re going to jail,” another officer says.
Moments later, the cop is seen drawing his Taser on the man, who still has his hands in the air, before placing him in handcuffs for “theft.”
His girlfriend explains to police that the cashier won’t take her money until she speaks with an officer, after which the cop places her in handcuffs too.
“I didn’t do anything!” she screams, as the officer presses her against the patrol car. “I didn’t do anything and you know I didn’t!”
This is the third officer-involved incident at a Waffle House incident this year.
Watch more of the video above.
