A Tennessee Waffle House patron was zapped with a stun gun, blasted with bear spray and zip-tied after he stumbled into the middle of an argument between workers, a new lawsuit claims.
Gregory Lynn Hall, 62, filed a $300,000 lawsuit against the chain after the 2024 incident in which he was allegedly hit with bear spray and shocked with a Taser before being bound in plastic zip-tie handcuffs.
The suit claims that as a result of the scuffle he “sustained severe and permanent injuries which have required and will continue to require medical attention,” as well as “serious mental injury in the form of loss of sleep, anxiety, and other injury,” according to the complaint viewed by the Independent.
However attorneys for Waffle House pointed the finger at Hall, claiming he “was being rude and abusive to employees of the restaurant and was told to leave the premises, which he refused to do.”
They further alleged that after Hall refused to leave he “continued aggressively arguing with the security guard and continued ignoring multiple commands to leave the premises, which resulted in a just use of non-lethal force to expel [him] from the premises.”
The fracas kicked off just before midnight on May 4, 2024 when Hall went inside the restaurant’s Nashville location and attempted to place his order.
Hall claimed a cook started yelling profanities at him and told him to go place his order at a pickup window.
When a female Waffle House worker approached the window to take his order, the cook allegedly unleashed a fresh stream of profanities at him and the employee, telling her to “get the f–k back over there.”
Hall’s said he asked the cook why he was using that kind of language toward an employee, but the cook allegedly barked back “that’s my f–king wife, you don’t tell me how to talk to her,” the suit said.
He then placed his order — a hashbrown bowl — and stepped away from the window to wait for his food.
However, apparently still “confused about the interaction,” Hall decided to take a picture inside the restaurant “in case something happened between the couple,” the complaint alleges.
After seeing him snap the photo, a uniformed security guard approached Hall and asked him to leave the restaurant, but he refused — saying he was going to wait for his food.
The complaint states the guard then went to his truck to retrieve a set of riot gear, went back inside and sprayed Hall’s with bear spray.
Hall “tried to back away,” but the guard followed him into the parking lot and “used a stun gun/taser” in him, at which point the suit claims the guard “put his knee in [Hall’s] back, pulled his arms behind him, then tied his hands with zip ties.”
Hall was taken to nearby Metro General Hospital.
Although the restaurant was quick to pin the blame for the clash on Hall, S&S Management, which employs the guard, claimed the worker “was acting outside the course and scope of his employment and in violation of its policies and procedures at the time of the alleged incident.”
Waffle House, which has over 2,000 locations across the US, has made headlines for several fights and brawls involving both customers and employees, as well as other bizarre incidents.