McDonald's worker fights back after the Florida man attacks her over plastic straw
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By Ben Kesslen
A viral video shows that a McDonald's worker fought against a furious customer who attacked her over a plastic straw.
The man, who St. Petersburg Florida Police Department identified as Daniel Taylor, attacked employee Yasmine James on Monday, grabbed his shirt and tried to pull her over the register.
Brenda Biandudi, the mother of the man who posted the video, which has more than 3.5 million views, told the NBC affiliate WFLA that the fight began when Taylor complained that there was no straw in the store's drinking station.
According to Biandudi, James explained that a new law issued that shop removed stray from the lobby, but that straws could still be requested. This was the result of a St. Petersburg ordinance adopted last month, and it was said that "plastic jets could be given only after customer service" ̵[ads1]1; an attempt to increase the city's sustainability.
When Taylor, 40, started his attack, James, a former boxer, defended himself. According to police, James, 20, Taylor hit the face as he held the collar on her uniform. Other employees worked at the same time to stop Taylor's attack.
Police say that after being separated from James, Taylor also broke McDonald's employee Tateona Bell, 23, before leaving the restaurant.
Police were able to consider Taylor when they received a call for an unarmed robbery after McDonald's event and recognized Taylor from the video.
