The victim claimed a Hooters manager called the cops on his family — rather than man who yelled racial slurs and spat on his grandson. (Image courtesy of Patch.com)
A Kansas City firefighter charged after an incident where he spat on a 3-year-old child and called him the n-word is back at work this week.
Terrence Jeremy Skeen, 42, was reinstated at the Kansas City Fire Department ahead of his trial next month after his attorneys argued he was “suspended incorrectly,” the Kansas City Star reported. Skeen faces battery, assault, and disorderly conduct charges stemming from a Feb. 26 altercation at a local Hooters.
The firefighter is accused of threatening to shoot a Black customer, calling him a racial slur and then spitting on his 3-year-old grandson inside the restaurant. The victim, Raymond L. Harris, stayed behind after the Hooter’s manager called the police to report Harris and his family, not Skeen. Harris’ family was ultimately asked to leave the restaurant, despite having done nothing wrong, according to the newspaper.
Harris said he was still inside with his grandson when the child briefly wandered away. Moments later, another patron said she saw Skeen spit on the child.
“You need to get that f—ing girl and take her back to the other side where you came from,” Skeen shouted at the man from across the bar.
After correcting him on the tot’s gender, Harris said he asked Skeen if he had spit on his grandchild.
“F–k you, you (n-word),” Skeen allegedly replied. “I will spit on you. F–k you! I will shoot you!”
Skeen’s attorneys have denied the allegations and said his client’s side of the story “will all come out at the trial.” The firefighter is expected to plead not guilty.
