A former manager at Popeyes Chicken named Marquez Smith (20) has been arrested for battery and first-degree cruelty to children, in connection with a physical altercation involving a 17-year-old female employee. Video from the inside the fast-food restaurant details a moment leading up to the incident, where Smith approaches the teenager while she was using her cell phone near a cash register, behind the counter. At the moment, it remains unclear what they began to argue about, but it is being speculated that the quarrel stems from Smiths' unwillingness to allow his former employee to clock out. The verbal spat culminated when Smith struck his former co-worker with an open-handed slap. From there, the two locked eyes and assumed sparring stances as if they were about to exchange blows. At that point, another employee rushed in and separated the two, before things could escalate.
The occurrence took place in the city of Bainbridge, Georgia, earlier in the week, but the fight is far from over. The teenage victim has already lawyered up and her legal team recently released a statement regarding the matter at hand.
“We are still investigating the events of May 30, 2022," wrote the Gee & Lee Law Firm. "However, it is completely unacceptable for any employee to be subjected to the physical and verbal abuse captured on video, let alone a teenager. A teenage employee should never have to face the cruel and abusive behavior witnessed in that video.”
For more news on this development, stay tuned.
Source: MSN
