A Tim Hortons employee who was involved in an altercation with an elderly customer shortly before the customer’s death will not face charges, local authorities say.
The incident took place on the morning of May 13 at a Tim Hortons in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Video released by the Fort Wayne Police Department shows Anita Grayson, 75, entering the restaurant at 3975 Ice Way in the northern Indiana city at about 8:10 that morning to address an issue with an order she had received at the drive-through.
After standing at the counter for about a minute, Grayson is seen arguing with a 17-year-old female employee, both of them gesturing intensely, though the video has no sound. Next, a 20-year-old shift lead steps between Grayson and the employee.
Police say the shift lead repeatedly told Grayson to leave. Grayson moves toward the younger employee, at which point the shift lead places her hands against Grayson to hold her back. Grayson then shoves the shift lead backward and takes a swing at her, striking her face.
The shift lead reacts and moves toward Grayson, swinging her arms and pushing her backward. The two end up in a tussle on the floor, as two other employees move in to separate them.
Police say that during the fight, Grayson grabbed the shift lead’s face, leaving scratches and knocking off her glasses. “During the struggle, Ms. Grayson pulled a chunk of hair from the shift lead’s head, leaving a raw area on the top of her head,” said a police press release .
The release says that at 8:22 a.m. Grayson lay down on the floor and the shift lead went to check on her, bringing her a cup of water. “A (Fort Wayne police) officer then arrived and found Ms. Grayson unresponsive. Medics arrived and began life-saving measures. Ms. Grayson was transported from the scene and was later pronounced deceased by medical personnel.”
Allen County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has since released its review of Grayson’s death, citing the “significant public attention” to the case.
“The community deserves to know not only our decision, but how we reached our determination,” the office wrote, adding: “We have given this case a fair and thorough review, and evaluated it on the evidence and the law, the same standard we apply to every case that comes before this office.”
The report notes that Allen County Coroner determined Grayson’s cause of death to be “acute exacerbation of congestive heart failure in the setting of a physical altercation.”
It explains that the term “acute exacerbation” means Grayson’s pre-existing congestive heart failure suddenly worsened during the physical altercation, resulting in her death. However, the Coroner also concluded that the injuries Grayson sustained during the fight did not contribute to her death.
The Attorney’s Office took into account witness statements, physical and medical evidence, the video and 911 calls in making its determination. It also referenced “applicable Indiana law,” including battery offences, murder, reckless homicide and self-defence.
On the issue of who started the altercation, it noted: “The first physical contact between Grayson and Employee 1 was not a threat or a blow. It was Employee 1 placing her hands on Grayson’s shoulders as Grayson reached around her toward the minor employee. Standing alone, that contact does not meet the standard for battery under Indiana law, which requires a touching in a rude, insolent, or angry manner.”
It added: “Grayson’s response was to shove Employee 1 with both hands and then strike her in the face. Even treating Employee 1’s hands on Grayson’s shoulders as the first touch in a technical sense, Grayson’s response was out of proportion to it.”
It concludes: “Based on the evidence reviewed to date, the available record does not support filing criminal charges. Grayson, not Employee 1, escalated the encounter to violence, and did so disproportionately to the minimal contact that preceded it.”
A segment of the surveillance footage that starts with Grayson being knocked over had been shared on social media by her daughter shortly after the incident, leading to calls for the Tim Hortons workers to be arrested.
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