LANSING, MIch. — Three women claim they were harassed at a local Denny's because of the color of their skin.
The women say the incident allegedly happened at the Denny's on West Saginaw Highway in Lansing back in October.
What was supposed to be a quick bite to eat after a night out on the town turned into much more.
They say they had hired an attorney right after who told them not to go to the media. But, the women now feel that people should be aware.
“I got a fight. I got a fight. I got a fight.
Oh, they’re fighting now?
I got a fight.”
Words of the Denny’s manager in a 9-1-1 call after a fight broke out in the middle of the restaurant.
“You hear these stories in other cities or somewhere else and you don’t think it will happen to you and then when it does it's like I didn’t think that would happen,” Lamaya Mcguire said. “I didn’t think that was something that I would experience. It was scary.”
It was Sasha Collins Birthday weekend. After going to a comedy show with her grandmother, she and her friends Jennifer McEwen and Lamaya Mcguire decided to stop and have breakfast.
"I remember when we pulled up I was like now how did we get to this Denny's and then we were like oh well, let's just go inside," McEwen said.
McEwen said not 10 minutes after they sat down and ordered food, a biker gang started harassing them.
“Immediately when they saw us they were like, we don’t like these kinds of people. Basically what we could hear the most was the N-word. He started to joke with his friend like, ‘Hey my N-word. I don’t know exactly, I think she may have asked what did he want to eat and he was like feed these N-words some T-bone steak,” McEwen explained.
The women say they tried to complain to the waiter and then the manager.
“I said I have some concerns that I want to express to you since this party of four came in they’ve been saying racial slurs,” Collins said. “And could you ask them--could you move them and if it happens again could you ask them to leave. He told me, ‘no’.”
The women say when they continued to ask the manager to take action he refused and told them to leave instead. When they refused to leave the manager called 9-1-1.
“I’m at Denny’s on West Saginaw and I need an officer,” The manager can be heard saying on the tape. “I have a table that won’t leave my establishment and is yelling and screaming.”
In the middle of that call, McEwen said a woman from the biker gang punched her in the face.
A woman can be seen walking up to and punching her on the surveillance footage from the restaurant.
“What did this fight start over,” the dispatcher asked.
“Over somebody using the n***** word. Sir, I guess there’s blood,” the manager responded.
“Okay do they need an ambulance,” the dispatcher asked.
“I do not know sir,” he replied.
McEwen said she ended up in the hospital after the incident. She still has a torn ligament in her hand.
“It’s definitely something that affects just like our everyday minds. Little stuff-- thinking. Little stuff little situations. I know for facts sometimes when I see people with their biker jackets on I immediately think that’s them, like dead serious and it’s like anxiety almost. And it was honestly like one of the worst days of my life,” McEwen explained.
The Eaton County prosecutor says there is a warrant out for the woman accused of punching McEwen.
Alice Barber is charged with assault and battery but never showed up for her arraignment.
There are no other charges at this time.
Fox 47 also reached out to the owner of that Denny’s who no longer owns it.
He did not want to comment further.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.
Download our free app for Appleand Android
and
Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox.
Select from these options: Breaking News, Severe Weather, School Closings, Daily Headlines and Daily Forecasts.
