Waffle House Customer Choked by Police Officer Says Employees Called Him a Gay Slur

Updated Monday, May 14, 2018, 4:50 p.m. EDT: Attorneys representing 22-year-old Anthony Wall, who was choked by a police officer at a Waffle House in early May, say that the young man was the subject of homophobic slurs from Waffle House employees.

Lawyer Benjamin Crump is asking for surveillance footage from the night of May 4, according to NBC News, and would not repeat what was actually said to his client.

“They sat down at the table, and note what the first statements were from the Waffle House employee,” Crump said at a news conference. “It wasn’t welcoming or inviting and almost so inappropriate I have problems even repeating [what] he told Anthony Wall, his little sister and others in his party.”

Wall, who was clad in a tuxedo after attending his sister’s prom, allegedly confronted the waiter by saying that he could not speak to the group in that manner, and then the situation escalated, ending with the police being called, and the young man being choked by a Warsaw, N.C., police officer.

“You will see from the video evidence as well as other objective evidence that indicates it was the Waffle House employees who were the initial aggressors,” Crump added, calling the workers unprofessional. “Waffle House employees used homophobic slurs to Anthony Wall.”

Also on Monday, the chain restaurant announced a wider investigation into whether the chain has a pattern of discrimination based on race and sexual orientation.