A woman says she was left terrified and devastated after being racially abused and then attacked in McDonald's after a birthday night out.
Sarah Kutiwa, from Stockport, had been out celebrating her 27 th birthday and had popped into the fast food chain in the town centre for some food in the early hours of Sunday morning (November 6) when she says she was verbally and physically attacked.
Shocking footage filmed by her sister shows a shirtless man repeatedly hurling racist abuse at her. She claims the man later slapped her friend and snatched and damaged her phone.
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And, she says a man who was with her abuser also slapped her in the face, knocking her to the floor, leaving her with a bruised head.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News , finance worker Sarah said the entire incident has left her deeply upset and shaken.
"It was my birthday celebration and I just didn't want it to end like that," she said. "I have experienced racism before but never physically like that. I've never had a random grown man abusing me and howling at me like that. I felt like I had gone back in time in that McDonald's.
"Obviously racism is evident but to hear it right in front of you like that was just horrible. I am upset that I let it get under my skin. I'm also upset it escalated like that when I think it could been prevented if they had chucked him out when I asked them to.
"I have never felt so alone. I stood up for the staff but they didn't stand up for me." Adding: "I felt in danger. I didn't feel safe."
Police have confirmed they are investigating whilst McDonald's have denounced racial abuse as "abhorrent" and said they will co-operate fully with their enquiries.
Sarah says the incident unfolded after she heard the man captured in the video telling a security guard at the branch on A6 Wellington Road South to 'go back to your own country' as she ordered at around 5am.
She says she intervened and told him that he had 'gone too far' and that there was no need to be racist, at which point he turned his ire towards her.
He began 'flexing his muscles' and 'got in her face', repeatedly saying 'what you gonna do about it?', Sarah explained. As she tried to push him away there was a struggle in which she ripped his shirt, leading to him taking it off completely, she said.
She says it was at this point he directed an expletive-ridden racial slur towards her as heard in the video. Sarah's sister can be heard to say 'I got that on tape' before the man replies 'What? What?' and repeats the slur a further two times.
After the events captured in the footage, which has now been passed to police, Sarah says her male friend was slapped and had a homophobic slur aimed at him as he tried to confront the man.
She also says that as she tried to take pictures of the man who had verbally abused her, her phone was snatched from her hand by him, and thrown out of the front door of the restaurant leaving it 'smashed.'
She says she resorted to picking up a cone from the floor in order to push the man back. She says it was at this point a second man, who was with the man who originally abused her, 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 says she has been left with a bruise on her forehead.
Sarah says she is angry McDonald's security or staff failed to intervene as events began to unfold, saying the topless man was able to order food and leave the premises in a taxi without being challenged.
Sarah, who lives in the area, also said that frequently having to pass the McDonald's branch where it happened meant she was also repeatedly having to re-live her ordeal.
In a tweet sharing the video, Sarah claimed the man was a Stockport Council bin man. However the council have now confirmed this is not the case, saying he does not work for them or their waste contractor.
"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: “This incident is subject to an ongoing police investigation. Abhorrent racial abuse has no place in our society and we will cooperate fully with police enquiries.”
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) confirmed its investigating "an incident of racist abuse" at the McDonalds on Wellington Road South in the early hours of Sunday.
They said they were looking into allegations of a racially aggravated assault causing actual bodily harm and a racially aggravated public order offence.
Superintendent Shan Nasim of GMP Stockport Division said: "GMP recognises the devastating impact that hate crime can have on individuals. It is an abhorrent crime and specialist officers have been deployed to support the victim.
"We are pursuing multiple lines of enquiry and I can assure you that anyone found committing this type of crime will find themselves subject to criminal proceedings."
If you have been a victim or witness of hate crime, please report it at the earliest opportunity via 101 or LiveChat on https://www.gmp.police.uk/ro/report. Alternatively, you can visit www.letsendhatecrime.com.
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