On Friday, July 30 at around 7:45 am a long-time homeless resident of the Haight St. area was beaten by a private security guard at the McDonald's restaurant at Haight and Stanyan. His crime was asking for a receipt for a breakfast he purchased, in order to comply with the company's beverage refill policy.
Brother Nicky had just spent about $4 on breakfast and a coffee, and had asked the employee who had served him for his receipt, in order to enjoy his coffee refill on a chilly morning. He was told "I can't give you a receipt right now." Nicky sat down, finished his breakfast sandwich, and went to refill his cup. The employee refused him. As he was leaving a heavy-set security guard pushed him from behind, sending him careening down a flight of stairs, injuring his back in the assault.
Fearing another attack, and with gravity as his only witness, Nicky defended himself by liberating the contents of his now lukewarm coffee cup into his assailant's face. The bull-headed security guard responded by punching him in the face four times.
On his way to the park police station a well-to-do patron who had witnessed the brutality offered Nicky his own breakfast and coffee. "What I just saw sickened me," he offered to our bruised but grateful hero.
Brother Nicky made it to the police station at around 8:10 and described the incident to the desk sergeant who told him he would send an officer right out. After waiting a half hour for the cruiser, Nicky returned to the cop shop only to be told the same thing, with the obvious result.
When Nicky came up to the Coalition on Homelessness office, I found him to be a bright, gentle guy; the kind of guy I could not see being thrashed by anyone for anything, least of all for making an obvious request that any patron has a right to make when spending his hard-earned cash. He still seemed kind of shocked and even a little hurt and bewildered at the abuse he had suffered as he related his story to me.
Brother Nicky only wished to hold McDonald's accountable, because, as he told me, "That woman who spilled coffee in her lap got $2 million for her suffering. What kinda money do you think I could get for getting beat up?"
I told Nicky that what is right is not always policy, and that I would help him any way that I could. I set up an interview with Policewatch for him and asked him to call me when he had heard their assessment. He called me the next day to tell me excitedly that Policewatch thought it would be hard to prosecute, due to a lack of witnesses (Nicky didn't ask the gentleman in the SUV for his name). Then he told me that one of his friends went back to that same McDonald's, and that the security guard that threw his civil rights down the stairs and pounded his face had been fired. I asked him if he felt vindicated and he said he did, but he wanted to send a letter to McDonald's about the incident.
What a nasty bastard, huh?
Harpo Corleone
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Coalition on Homelessness, San Francisco 468 Turk St.
San Francisco, CA 94102
vox: (415) 346.3740
Fax: (415) 775.5639
coh@sfo.com|
http://www.sfo.com/~coh