People sure are bold these days.
A Dairy Queen franchise store owner in Illinois “proudly admitted” to calling a 21-year-old mom the N-word in front of her kids after a disagreement.
via NY Daily News:
Deianeira Ford had asked for a refund from Zion store owner Jim Crichton after she says she did not receive her full order placed at the drive-thru window.
Crichton gave Ford $5 and called her and her children “n—–s,” according to the police report obtained by the Daily News.
When Ford asked him his name, Crichton told her his name was “Bill Clinton.” Ford’s 3-year-old child asked what the N-word meant.
Ford also said that the store owner “told me to go back where I came from” in front of her kids, according to the Lake County News-Sun.
“That was the hardest thing,” she told the newspaper. “He did it with my children in the back.”
Even though Crichton “proudly admitted” to making the slur to Ford, according to the police report, he told the News-Sun that the allegations were not true.
“It’s 99 percent lies,” he told the newspaper. “This is blown so far out of proportion it’s stupid. Her order was confusing, and I told her, ‘Here’s your money back,’ This is so far blown out of proportion.”
When police showed up at the Dairy Queen on Wednesday, Ford was “visibly upset and crying,” according to the report.
“I asked him what happened with Ford and told him she was so disturbed by his behavior she was willing to sign a complaint against him,” the police report read. “(He) boastfully told me he would be happy to go to jail over the issue and proudly admitted to calling Ford a slur. He added that he is ‘fed up with black people.'”
However, the store owner told cops later that same day that nothing racial took place, according to the police report.
He “continued to contradict his story about (Wednesday) morning to me several more times and was becoming angered that I did not believe him,” the report read.
Zion Police Chief Stephen Dumyahn told the News-Sun he was “disgusted and discouraged” by the man’s comments.
“I reached out to Miss Ford to tell her that this does not represent the diverse community of Zion,” he told the newspaper.
In a statement obtained by the Daily News on Friday, Crichton apologized for his “recent words and actions.”
“As the owner of this restaurant, I should be a model for others,” he said in the statement. “My actions were inexcusable and unacceptable.”
Dairy Queen also apologized for his “inappropriate” behavior.
“The actions of this franchisee are inexcusable, reprehensible and unacceptable,” read the statement. “We do not in any way condone his behavior or language. It is not what our brand stands for and is not representative of a DQ or its franchisee community.”
Crichton was not hit with any charges.
“While this alleged activity is deplorable, it is not criminal,” Zion cops said in a press release. “One of the foundational rights we have under the U.S. Constitution is the freedom of speech. The Zion Police Department is committed to upholding the rights of all citizens, even when we find it morally reprehensible.”
Clyde McLemore of Black Lives Matter in Lake County went to the Dairy Queen and confronted the owner, according to the police report. He departed when police asked him to leave.
A Black Lives Matter protest at the Dairy Queen is planned for Saturday, according to the News-Sun.
Shameful.
Update: Dairy Queen contacted lovebscott.com with the following statement:
We take this very seriously & do not condone any discrimination. Full response: pic.twitter.com/WvCD8llZbf
— Dairy Queen (@DairyQueen) January 7, 2017
Comments are closed.