The Greater Manchester Police arrested a 28 year-old man in connection with an alleged racist attack at McDonald's in Stockport in the early hours of Sunday (6).
Sarah Kutiwa, of Stockport, was traumatised after being racially abused and assaulted by two thugs at a fast food restaurant on Wellington Road in the town centre. A video of the incident was shared on Twitter, and a racial slur could be heard.
The woman also claimed she was physically assaulted and injured later. The incident was reported to GMP, and an investigation is currently underway.
In a post on Twitter, GMP's Stockport division said: "We've been investigating the report of a racially-aggravated assault relating to an alleged incident shared on social media from McDonald's at the weekend. We arrested a 28-year-old man who is currently in custody for questioning. Our enquiries are ongoing."
Kutiwa's sister captured video of a shirtless man flexing his upper body and repeatedly shouting racist abuse at her. The man allegedly slapped her friend and snatched and damaged her phone, while another man slapped her in the face and knocked her to the ground.
According to the victim, the incident occurred around 5 am when she overheard the abuser telling a security guard at the branch to "go back to your own country."
When she stepped in and said that he had "gone too far," he became enraged and began to attack the victim. When she tried to push him away a struggle occured in which she tore his shirt. Then he totally removed it.
At this point he directed an expletive-ridden racial slur towards her as heard in the video. Sarah said that her male companion was slapped and had a homophobic insult directed at him as he sought to approach the man following the events shown in the video.
The abuser grabbed her phone and threw it out of the front door of the restaurant, leaving it'smashed.' When she picked up a cone from the floor to push the man back, a second man slapped her in the face, knocking her head into a wall before she fell to the floor, where she remained for over a minute. She claimed she was left with a bruise on her forehead.
Sarah added that the McDonald's security or staff failed to intervene when all these happened, adding that the topless man was able to order food and leave the premises in a taxi without being challenged.
In a tweet sharing the video, Kutiwa said that the man was a Stockport Council bin man. However the council denied the claim.
"The council is aware that it is has been tagged in a video on social media platforms showing an incident of racist abuse at a venue in the town centre," the council said in a statement on the social media site.
"The man in the video using this wholly inappropriate language is not an employee of Stockport Council or our partners, Totally Local Company. The council offers its deepest sympathy to the victims in the video and stands united against all forms of racism in society. The video has been shared with @gmpolice."
A McDonald's spokesperson said that abhorrent racial abuse has no place in our society and we will cooperate fully with police enquiries.
Superintendent Shan Nasim of GMP Stockport Division said that the force recognises the devastating impact that hate crime can have on individuals, adding that it is an abhorrent crime and specialist officers have been deployed to support the victim.
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