Prosecutors reviewing death of 75-year-old woman involved in physical altercation at Tim Hortons
Anita Grayson died following the May 13 incident in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Prosecutors are reviewing the death of a 75-year-old woman who became unresponsive and died following a physical altercation with an employee at a Tim Hortons in Indiana, officials said Wednesday.
The incident occurred on May 13 in Fort Wayne, police said. The customer, Anita Grayson, entered the Tim Hortons that morning to "address an issue" with a drive-thru order, at which point she got into a physical altercation with the store's 20-year-old shift lead, according to the Fort Wayne Police Department.
Fort Wayne police released footage of the incident on Tuesday due to what it called "significant public concern and misinformation" in the wake of Grayson's death, citing a "poor-quality video circulating publicly."
Police said they have determined that the shift lead intervened when Grayson "began berating a 17-year-old female employee" by stepping between the two and repeatedly telling Grayson to leave.
When Grayson appeared to move toward the teen, the shift lead placed her hands on Grayson, who police said then "forcefully shoved the shift lead backward" and struck her in the nose.
During an ensuing "struggle," the shift lead, whose name was not released, swung her arms toward Grayson, police said. Grayson then "grabbed at the shift lead's face, leaving scratches and knocking off her glasses," police said.
Police said Grayson pulled the shift lead to the ground by the hair, pulling out a chunk.
Following the physical altercation, Grayson sat down at a table, police said. She then laid down on the floor at 8:22 a.m., about 10 minutes after the shift lead was first struck in the nose, according to police. The shift lead checked on Grayson and brought her a cup of water, police said. Another employee also checked on her while she was on the floor.
A responding police officer found Grayson unresponsive, and paramedics arrived and attempted life-saving measures, police said. She was transported from the scene and later pronounced dead by medical personnel, police said.
The cause and manner of death remain pending, police said Tuesday.
The case, which includes witness interviews and surveillance video, has been sent to the Allen County Prosecutor's Office for review.
"At this time, no decision regarding this matter will be made until the Prosecutor's Office has received and reviewed all evidence related to the investigation, including the complete report from the Allen County Coroner's Office," the Allen County Prosecutor's Office said in a statement on Wednesday.
The coroner's findings may not be available for another four to eight weeks, the office noted.
Tim Hortons offered its condolences to Grayson's family.
"The health and safety of our guests and team members is our highest priority and the local franchisee has been cooperating fully with the police," the company said in a statement.
Grayson's daughter, Tawnda Grayson, told ABC Fort Wayne affiliate WPTA that she wanted to see the video of the incident to "at least know how, why, what."
"You should not enter a coffee shop for a coffee and a doughnut and come out unalived," she told the station. "That is diabolical."
Tawnda Grayson alleged her mother was "wronged in the worst way."
"That's an elderly lady. That's not how we treat our senior citizens," she said. "We be careful with them. We make sure that they're all right. We don't jump on them and attack them."
The Fort Wayne Police Department said the circumstances surrounding Grayson's death "are not immediately clear," though "must be thoroughly and professionally investigated."
"FWPD understands the public concern surrounding this case," the police department said. "We also recognize the importance of transparency, accuracy, and allowing the investigative and prosecutorial review process to proceed based on the full body of evidence, not incomplete video clips or inaccurate public narratives."
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