Workers at a Philadelphia Taco Bell were fired after a man accused them of beating him and his girlfriend in an unprovoked attack that was captured on video.
Joe Boback told NBC10 he was visiting the Taco Bell restaurant on 11th and Chestnut streets back on Feb. 24 around 10 p.m. Boback said he and other customers were waiting about 45 minutes for their food, causing some of them to complain. Boback’s roommate, as well as her boyfriend, Bryan Reese, 38, then arrived at the Taco Bell to pick him up.
Reese told NBC10 he was waiting with Boback inside the restaurant when six to seven Taco Bell employees suddenly jumped over the counter and attacked him.
Boback began to record on his cellphone as Reese ran outside. The Taco Bell workers caught up to him and continued attacking him in the middle of the street, Reese said. The video shows one worker holding Reese in a headlock while another worker throws punches.
Boback told NBC10 that Reese’s girlfriend tried to stop them. That’s when a worker held her down while another beat her.
“It was such a blur because it was so traumatic to see my two friends get beat up for no reason,” Boback said. “It was complete chaos.”
Reese and his girlfriend were both injured during the incident. Reese released the video on social media Tuesday after claiming both Taco Bell and police officers were slow in addressing it.
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“It was unprovoked,” Reese said. “There’s no reason my girlfriend should’ve been on the ground getting beat up as well.”
A spokesperson for Taco Bell released a statement to NBC10 on the incident:
“We’re shocked and disappointed to see this situation; we and our franchisees do not tolerate this behavior,” the spokesperson wrote. “The franchisee who owns and operates this location is retraining its staff, and all team members involved have been terminated.”
Reese told NBC10 Taco Bell offered him a $20 gift card and he’s happy about the firings. He plans on pressing charges against the workers.
“Justice means the people get arrested and there’s repercussions for actions,” he said.
Police confirmed to NBC10 that they are investigating the Feb. 24 incident as well as another recent complaint from a Grubhub driver who accused a worker at the same Taco Bell of using a homophobic slur against him. The investigations are in the early stages and no charges have been filed, police said.
