Facebook A Dunkin Donuts employee in Syracuse, New York, was suspended after a video was posted to Facebook showing him dumping water on a sleeping homeless man.
A Dunkin’ Donuts employee was a caught on video dumping water on a sleeping homeless man in Syracuse, New York. That employee and other workers who watched and laughed as it happened have since been suspended by the Dunkin’ store’s owners, Syracuse.com reports. The employees have not been identified.
The video of the incident at the North Salina Street store was posted to Facebook on September 30 by Samuel Breazeale. “That poor guy. You never know what someone is going through in life,” Breazeal wrote. Kimberly Wolak, the chief operating officer of The Wolak Group, said in a statement that the company is investigating and said in a statement, “we were extremely disturbed by the behavior of our employees captured in the video.”
In the video, an unidentified Dunkin’ employee walks up to a man who is sitting at a table with his head down, apparently sleeping. The employee asks, “want to sleep?” before dumping a pitcher of water on the man, waking him up. Other people can be heard laughing as the man stands up and unplugs his now-wet phone from where it was charging. As the man shakes off his phone, the employee tells him, “How many times have I told you to stop sleeping here my n*gger? You’re here all day, you have enough time. How many times is the customers and the people going to tell you to stop sleeping here?”
The man tells him it was an accident, and the employee responds, “No it wasn’t an accident. You know I’m not playing with you. I ain’t going to call the cops on you like I said, but you’re going to get out of here.” The man filming the video, who is also an employee, can be heard laughing as the video ends.
You can watch the video below:
Breazeale identified the homeless man in the video Jeremy Dufrense and started a GoFundMe campaign to help him. He had an initial goal of $150, but more than $1,600 had been raised by Monday evening. Breazeale wrote, “Jeremy needs our help after having cold water poured on him while trying to get some rest at the Dunkin’ Donuts in Syracuse ny last night . If you would like to donate something to help him get some clothing and whatever else he and his family might need for suffering this it would be a blessing. Thank you!!!! (Update) I finally got in contact with his brother and mom. All proceeds made are going to Jeremy and family to help him get on his feet so there will be no more nights at Dunkin Donuts.”
Wolak said in her statement about the incident, “It not only violated our written policies, but goes against our core values as an organization–which include creating a welcoming and hospitable environment and treating everyone with dignity and respect. The employees involved in the incident have been suspended pending a complete investigation, and we will be contacting the individual in the video to apologize for the negative experience.”
She added, “We also intend to work with local advocates to make sure that our employees are better educated as to how to engage with homeless individuals and where to direct them in the community for appropriate assistance.”
On Monday, Al-Amin Muhammad, an advocate for the homeless in Syracuse, confronted employees at the Dunkin Donuts, a video from Syracuse.com shows:
Others protested at the store, with about 20 people standing outside Monday with signs that read “Homeless Lives Matter,” and “Homeless Are Human,” according to WSYR-TV.
After video surfaced online showing a Dunkin Donuts’ employee throwing water on a homeless man.. protesters are gathering here on North Salina St. @CNYcentral
Dunkin Donuts in #Syracuse is new flashpoint on homelessness after video apparently shows store worker dump water on sleeping homeless man to get him to leave.
Photo: Cheryl Neri
Dufrense and his family told Syracuse.com that he is disabled and suffers from schizophrenia. He sleeps outside most nights and eats at the Samaritan Center on North Salina Street near the Dunkin’ Donuts. Dufrense told the news site he sometimes goes into the Dunkin’ to charge his phone. On the night of the incident, he was charging the phone so he could call his mother and say good night, and put his head down for a minute. The employee then dumped water on him.
“He probably had some personal problems of his own and needed someone to talk to,” Dufresne told Syracuse.com. “And he took it out on someone else, like me. I grabbed my stuff and left.” He said other workers have been nice to him, giving him food or drinks. Dufrense told Syracuse.com the employees asked him not to bother anyone and he said he didn’t. It was about 8:30 p.m. when the incident happened in a nearly-empty store.
Dufrense told Syracuse.com he has no interest in sleeping inside, as he likes to be outside and alone. “The only time I talk to people is when I talk to my family,” he told Syracuse.com. Dufrense’s mother told the news site that oxygen was cut off to his brain when he was born, leaving him with mental and physical struggles. Dufrense also suffers from epilepsy and learning disabilities. His mother said she has tried to get him to stay inside, but hasn’t been able to.
John Tumino, who runs a street outreach program in Syracuse, told the news site, “You’re not even bothering anybody. There were no other customers there. I’m not saying it’s cool for the guy to be sleeping in Dunkin’ Donuts, but there are better tactics than throwing water on someone.
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