Bill Bickel’s Crimeweek

An Arkansas couple is suing McDonald’s for $3 million after the husband left his cell phone – containing nude photos of his wife – in one of their restaurants. He called the restaurant manager and was assured the phone would be held for him until he could come and get it, later to discover that the photos had been posted (along with the couple’s names, address and phone number) on the Internet.

The wife began receiving offensive phone calls and text messages, and the couple eventually had to move. The lawsuit claims they suffered emotional distress, embarrassment and damage to their reputations, and they also contend that McDonald’s should pay for their moving expenses.

Every newspaper account I’ve seen includes the couple’s full names and town. I’m of two minds about this: On one hand, this moves their embarrassment to a national level. On the other hand, they made the decision to sue McDonald’s over a situation for which they were primarily at fault, and that’s what made teh story newsworthy.

The photos were removed from the web site but, because of the nature of the Internet, they have already spread to countless other sites and will likely remain available forever.

A jury today awarded $6.1 million to a 21-year-old Kentucky woman who, three and a half years ago, was strip-searched by the (female) assistant manager of the McDonald’s where she worked – and the assistant manager’s boyfriend – after somebody claiming to be a police officer phoned the restaurant, claimed the young woman had stolen from a customer, and demanded that she be strip-searched in order to find the stolen items.

The lawsuit against McDonald’s claims the young woman was also forced to perform “sexual acts” during the search, and the assistant manager’s boyfriend has already been sentenced to five years in prison for sexually abusing her during the search.

The assistant manager, who along with her boyfriend claimed she was only following what she believed was a legitimate order by a police officer, was sentenced to probation – and while she was a defendant in this lawsuit, along with McDonald’s, the jury ruled that she was not liable for damages.

The remarkable thing about all this is that it’s not an isolated incident: Though there’s no official count of how many times somebody has phoned fast-food restaurants claiming to be a police officer and ordering that an employee (always a young female) be stripped-searched, I personally have written about at least fifteen such cases over the past ten years.

And this was part of the basis for the lawsuit: Though you wouldn’t think this would be necessary, McDonalds (and Burger King and Wendy’s) should inform their managers, as a matter of course, that they should never strip-search an employee on the orders of an anonymous phone caller who claims to be a police officer.

A jury today awarded $6.1 million to a 21-year-old Kentucky woman who, three and a half years ago, was strip-searched by the (female) assistant manager of the McDonald’s where she worked – and the assistant manager’s boyfriend – after somebody claiming to be a police officer phoned the restaurant, claimed the young woman had stolen from a customer, and demanded that she be strip-searched in order to find the stolen items.

The lawsuit against McDonald’s claims the young woman was also forced to perform “sexual acts” during the search, and the assistant manager’s boyfriend has already been sentenced to five years in prison for sexually abusing her during the search.

The assistant manager, who along with her boyfriend claimed she was only following what she believed was a legitimate order by a police officer, was sentenced to probation – and while she was a defendant in this lawsuit, along with McDonald’s, the jury ruled that she was not liable for damages.

The remarkable thing about all this is that it’s not an isolated incident: Though there’s no official count of how many times somebody has phoned fast-food restaurants claiming to be a police officer and ordering that an employee (always a young female) be stripped-searched, I personally have written about at least fifteen such cases over the past ten years.

And this was part of the basis for the lawsuit: Though you wouldn’t think this would be necessary, McDonalds (and Burger King and Wendy’s) should inform their managers, as a matter of course, that they should never strip-search an employee on the orders of an anonymous phone caller who claims to be a police officer.