Cold Burger King Onion Rings Allegedly Leads To Taser And Knife Attack

Having it your way may or may not mean onion rings with a side order of Taser and switchblade at a New Mexico Burger King restaurant.

In the incident that occurred in June 2013, a customer allegedly got into a confrontation with the store manager after asking if his cold onion rings could be reheated.

In a civil lawsuit filed a few days ago against Burger King and some employees arising from the alleged assault, plaintiff Robert DeYapp claims that instead of reheated onion rings, it was the store manager who got hot and came after him with a switchblade knife and a Taser.

When DeYapp went back to the counter with the onion rings, the manager allegedly told a co-worker in Spanish that “This white boy is mad about his food, and he doesn’t even know that I’m going to return it and do whatever I want to it and he’ll still eat it and never have any idea of what I did to his food,” the Courthouse News Service reports.

DeYapp understands Spanish, however, and after overhearing the conversation, decided to ask for a refund instead of accepting the batch of onion rings. The manager refused to give him his money back and, after DeYapp went back to his seat, starting taking pictures of him and his car. When DeYapp asked Berrera what was going on, “the manager came around the counter and began lunging at Mr. DeYapp with a Taser in one hand and a switchblade knife in the other hand,’ according to the allegations in the legal papers.

Following this heated confrontation in which the customer managed to dodge the weaponry and avoid injury, responding police officers arrested the manager who allegedly later pleaded guilty to felony assault with a deadly weapon.

The customer is now seeking money damages for assault and for negligent hiring and training on the part of Burger King, which allegedly knew or should have known (a legal standard for civil liability) of the manager’s alleged prior flare-ups with customers.

In general, an employer can be held legally responsible for the misconduct of a worker if the employee is on the job at the time, i.e., acting within the course and scope of employment as it is described in fancy legal language.

Unlike revenge as the old expression holds, onion rings are supposed to be served hot rather than cold. That is, according to the Burger King website, the fast-food chain describes its onion rings under the heading “deliciousness comes full circle,” and adds that “served hot and crispy, our golden Onion Rings are the perfect treat for plunging into one of our bold or classic sauces.”

In 2012, the Serious Eats website review gave Burger King onion rings high marks for “the right amount of onion flavor, an exceptionally good coating, and an array of all-important dipping sauces to keep the whole thing interesting.”

When asked about the cold onion rings lawsuit, a Burger King representative told the New York Daily News that “the company does not comment on active litigation.”

[image credit: Jonathunder]