A Popeyes employee in Atlanta called the police on a young female college student last month after she attempted to buy food for a homeless man.
Jo Ortega, a student at Georgia State University, was retrieving a DoorDash order when she noticed a man who appeared to be hungry, she said, according to a report.
She attempted to order him some chicken, but the employees at the Popeyes location would not allow her to do so, she said.
ASTRONOMER PLANS $1.5M EXPEDITION TO RECOVER POSSIBLE ALIEN TECHNOLOGY IN OCEAN
@thegirlyjo CRAZY Popeyes in Atlanta would not let me purchase food for homeless! #atlanta #dontletthisflop #fyp #videoviral @popeyes @theshaderoom #FindYourEdge #fyp
The video of the refusal soon went viral after its release.
“No, ma’am. You can’t do it,” an employee said.
“Why? He’s asking for food?” Ortega replied.
“Ma’am, you can’t do it. I could care less about you recording me, baby,” a second employee said.
The second employee then shut the drive-thru window in Ortega’s face, and someone at the location contacted the police, according to a report.
“At that moment, I was terrified. I thought I was gonna get arrested,” Ortega said.
“Maybe I should just call my family, and I might not be coming home tonight.”
Officers arrived at the restaurant, but no arrests were made, according to Atlanta police.
“Units arrived on the scene, and the caller was already gone,” Public Information Officer Benjamin Hopson said.
“The call was cleared with no arrest/no report.”
Officers even thanked Ortega for attempting to do something nice for the hungry man, she said.
“The officer pulled me to the side and said, ‘I really thank you for doing that. Thank you for buying him food. I appreciate that,'” Ortega said.
The general manager of the Popeyes location was eventually contacted, according to a report.
He said Ortega and the hungry man could order anything for free that night, and Ortega helped the man, Jazz, get a meal.
“We have ensured all employees at this restaurant have been provided with retraining to help navigate a range of guest interactions, such as the situation highlighted in the video,” a statement from the fast food chain read.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Ortega is now working to help find Jazz a place to live, a report noted.
