A horrific video taken inside a McDonald’s in Rosedale, Md., went viral last week, prompting a petition on Change.org and an investigation by Baltimore police. Advocacy groups say it was a hate crime and are calling on McDonald’s and the Baltimore County Police Department to hold bystanders, who included McDonald’s employees, responsible.
Two women, ages 14 and 18, were filmed brutally assaulting a transgender woman named Chrissy Polis. The police report says one of the suspects claimed the fight was over using the bathroom.
The rather graphic video, filmed by a McDonald’s employee, shows the two women kicking and hitting the woman in the head and dragging her across the floor by the hair, after which the victim apparently has a seizure. An older woman and a man try to get involved but the attackers refuse to stop. McDonald’s employees stand by watching, laughing, and encouraging the beating. After police have been called and the woman’s seizure begins, McDonald’s’ employees advise the attackers to leave to avoid arrest.
"It does appear that the victim was a transgender woman, and she was brutalized while people stood by and watched," Lisa Polyak, vice president of the board of directors for Equality Maryland, told the Baltimore Sun. "There's no excuse for that violence under any circumstances, but we would encourage police to investigate as a hate crime."
So far, only one McDonald’s employee has been punished. The 14-year-old girl is being charged as a minor for her part in the attack, and the 18-year-old's charges are “pending.” So along with the petition on Change.org demanding something be done about the other people who had a part in it, a rally is in the works. It's tonight from 7 p.m. ET – 10 p.m. ET and it's being held at the McDonald’s at 6315 Kenwood Ave. in Rosedale, Md. If you're in the Rosedale area, you can find the details on the Facebook page organizers put up for the event.
Here’s a video with an interview of Chrissy Polis.