Caught on Video: Officer throws Good Samaritan out of McDonald’s for buying meal for homeless man

A South Carolina man was thrown out of a Myrtle Beach McDonald’s restaurant, apparently after he bought a homeless panhandler a meal.

KTLA reports that restaurant patron Yossi Gallo caught the incident on video on Wednesday morning after he bought the homeless a breakfast meal. A Myrtle Beach police officer not only kicked the homeless man out of the restaurant, but also Yossi for reportedly becoming upset and raising his voice.

“I waved him down, and I said, ‘Hey, are you hungry?’ and he said, ‘Yes.’ So I went in there with him, and as soon as we went inside, the lady at the register says, ‘You’re not getting food.’ She tells him he’s not getting food,” Gallo told KTLA.

Sometimes I hate the world…. ☹️

Posted by Yossi Gallo on Wednesday, February 28, 2018

 

The employee reportedly called police and reported a panhandler asking for money in the parking lot. When the officer arrived, she demanded the homeless man to leave at the request of the restaurant’s management. Yossi tried to explain that he bought a meal for the man, which made him a paying customer. Yet, management still wanted the homeless off of the premises.

“You guys suck. I’ll never be back here,” Gallo responded.

Eventually, both Gallo and the panhandler exited the restaurant, but when he posted the incident on Facebook, the video quickly trended, with over 67 million views. Gallo pointed out that he didn’t think the officer did anything wrong, as she was simply following the requests of the restaurant. However, the cashier’s response to the situation angered Gallo, and he decided to record the incident.

The Myrtle Beach Police Department stated that the video only shows half of what happened and defended the officer’s response to the situation.

McDonald’s owner Joel Pellicci, Jr. provided a statement, in an attempt to explain the cashier and management team’s reaction.

“At my restaurant, the goal is to provide our customers with a positive and welcoming experience each time they visit. Unfortunately, the individual in this video has a history of disruptive behavior and has been asked to leave by management and police on several occasions.”

[Feature Photo: Screen/Yossi Gallo, Facebook]