The barista who smashed a customer's windshield with a hammer for throwing his coffee at her has told her side of the story. Taking to social media, she revealed that she knew the man before the incident and defended herself against those who criticized her reaction.
Emma Lee, the owner and sole employee of the drive-through coffee stand Taste of Heaven Espresso in Southern Seattle, was involved in an altercation with a customer on June 11 after he became upset at the price of his drinks.
Highlights
- On June 11, barista Emma Lee smashed a customer's windshield with a hammer after he threw his coffee at her.
- The incident occurred after the customer became upset over the $22 price of his drinks.
- Lee revealed she knew the man before the incident, but he had never been physically violent with her before.
Lee explained that the man had ordered a 32-ounce coffee and 24-ounce water for a total of $22. Other customers tried to calm him down for 10 minutes, but he remained agitated and continued to display violent behavior.
Image credits: tasteofheaven.espresso
Image credits: tasteofheaven.espresso
"Nobody is gonna miss you," the man can be heard saying on the surveillance video footage of the incident, a comment that Lee understood to be a threat.
"Do you want me to throw this on you?" she asked him.
"Give it to me," he responded before taking the two cups back. The customer then took the lid off the water bottle and threw the drink at the barista before doing the same with his coffee.
After the man got back inside his vehicle, Lee grabbed a hammer and smashed it into his windshield, leading the customer to drive off. He left the premises following Lee's call to the police.
Lee revealed that she knew the "aggressive" customer before the incident, but he had never "gotten physically violent" with her
Speaking with Fox News, the business owner said she filed charges for misdemeanor assault. The customer has reportedly been banned from returning to the drive-through stand.
According to Lee, the man told her she couldn't "name [her] own price" and felt he was being scammed.
"No one is forcing you to come here," Lee told the outlet. "The argument that he didn't know or was scammed doesn't hold up. The prices are listed."
"It was a threat; after screaming, spitting, and trying to pry open the window, I felt in danger," she added before stating that she acted in self-defense.
Watch surveillance video footage of the fight below:
The customer became aggressive upon hearing the price of his drinks
Image credits: tasteofheaven.espresso
"It's OK for him to be outraged about the price of his drinks, enough to assault me, but it's not appropriate for me to respond?"
In an Instagram post published on June 13, Lee shared further details about the incident and called for the man to be held accountable for his behavior.
"Due to the unforeseen amount of attention this video has received, I want to take a moment to address the real issue here: the safety of women, more specifically those that are disproportionately less protected," the Seattle resident wrote.
"We work alone in this industry, wearing nearly nothing and interacting with men (most of which we don't know) all day." The barista greets her customers at Taste of Heaven Espresso in bikinis.
"It was a threat; after screaming, spitting, and trying to pry open the window, I felt in danger," the barista expressed
Image credits: tasteofheaven.espresso
Lee stated that she acted in self-defense and that police banned the man from returning to the drive-through stand
Image credits: tasteofheaven.espresso
She continued: "At what point during an assault does a woman have the right to protect herself? What is the appropriate response? I know this man. This wasn't his first time being aggressive but it is the first time he's ever gotten physically violent with me.
"The fact that the first thing people want to know is what I did to deserve him throwing two drinks at me is disgusting. We need to change the narrative of these conversations.
"This is no longer the time of women that will smile and apologize, having our only acceptable response be the art of de-escalation—this time, we will fight back."
People's opinions about the incident were divided
