NORCROSS, Ga. -- The group Women's March, along with several other advocacy groups, protested outside Waffle House U.S. headquarters in Norcross on Friday.
The gathering was in response to the popular eatery's decision to side with the police department that is charging a woman after an incident at a Waffle House in Saraland, Alabama.
According to the Facebook event page, Women's March will be joined by the National Black Justice Coalition, Georgia Alliance for Social Justice, Alliance for Black Lives, Justice for Chikesia Clemons and Rally for Black Lives.
"This was not simply a brutal police beating; it was sexual abuse," a spokesperson for Women's March said in an e-mail. "Chikesia was violated, humiliated, and, like so many Black women before her, arrested and charged for her own assault."
Clemons was arrested back in April after she complained about a 50-cent charge for plastic utensils. Afterward, three officers threw Clemons onto the restaurant floor causing her top to slip and exposing her chest.
A video was taken and posted on social media, gathering hundreds of thousands of views and sparking national outrage.
On Friday, Waffle House released this statement:
"As anyone who has dined with us knows, we have a very diverse customer base and workforce. We have had a culture of inclusion since we opened our doors in 1955, and are very proud of the fact that our restaurants have been open to all. We understand the concern over these incidents, and welcome continued communication with the community, its leaders and the customers involved.
"While we regret that the incidents happened at all, after reviewing all the available information, including witness statements and our own in-store videos, we believe that in the Saraland, Ala., and Warsaw, N.C., incidents our employees made the right decision to contact the police in light of safety concerns for the customers and themselves.
"Our review of the Fort Walton Beach, Fla., incident is continuing. However we think both sides could have handled this situation better. On our part, our employee could have done more to de-escalate the dispute before calling the police. The day after the incident, the customers came back to the restaurant, and we gave them a full refund.
"Yesterday, our CEO, Walt Ehmer, called to apologize to Ms. Sheffield, who was one of the customers involved in the Fort Walton Beach incident. We extend our apologies to all the customers who were in the restaurant that night. We have spoken to our employees in the restaurant and will be doing additional training for the team members of this restaurant on the proper way to handle situations like this.
"We hope that people will consider all the facts before making up their minds, and we stand ready to engage in open and constructive dialogue about our company, our values and our commitment to doing all we can to ensure that our customers have a great experience in our restaurants."
RELATED | Despite outrage over viral video, Waffle House calls black customer's arrest 'appropriate'
RELATED |
