A popular Miami burger chain is being sued by four black tourists over a scenario that seems like it could be straight out of the 1950s and 60s.
The tourists claim a white female manager blasted them with a high-pressure industrial water hose after they were denied service and kicked out of the restaurant because of their race.
In their lawsuit, Breealle Holyfield, Danny Johnson, Khevionna Davis, and Courtney Pettigrew allege they were discriminated against during a visit to the Cheeseburger Baby restaurant in Miami Beach, Florida.
The two couples went there on August 6, 2018, after a night celebrating Davis’ birthday, according to the lawsuit filed in the United States District for the Southern District of Florida.
The complaint further asserts that after the four tourists entered the restaurant, a restaurant employee subjected them to racial verbal abuse and said that they would not be served and kicked them out of the restaurant.
According to the suit, when the group went outside to wait for their Uber ride, a white female restaurant manager closed and locked the front door with clients still dining inside.
The manager then blasted them through a crack in the front door with what can only be described as an improvised water cannon to scatter the four tourists away from the restaurant.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Fq0-gYzQ_o&feature=youtu.be
“I can’t believe it’s 2018 and this is still going on. I remember growing up and seeing pictures of black protesters in the 1960s being hosed down in the streets. I thought those days were over. Has history taught us anything?” – Plaintiff Breealle Holyfield
The suit also contends that Plaintiffs called the restaurant the next day to complain and learned that an employee and store manager had been terminated as a result of their conduct.
The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for allegations of civil rights violations, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence.
The lawsuit was brought by Miami civil rights attorney, Santiago A. Cueto of the Cueto Law Group law firm.
