Man Buys Homeless Man Food, Doesn't Expect to Be Kicked Out from the Restaurant

A McDonald’s branch in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, called a police officer to kick a homeless man out of their establishment after a customer bought him food.

Social media users were fueled with anger after a video of a homeless man getting kicked out of a McDonald’s establishment went viral in 2018.

Yossi Gallo, a McDonald’s customer, saw a homeless man by the establishment and offered to buy him food. However, once the man sat inside the restaurant to eat, McDonald’s employees were set on making him leave.

According to the Myrtle Beach Police Department, a McDonald’s staff member called them to report a man soliciting money in their parking lot. They said in a statement:

“[...] an employee approached the officer and indicated the male was inside the establishment. The employee requested the officer issue a trespassing warning and asked that the person leave the premises.”

As soon as Gallo saw what was happening, he took a video of the situation. Visibly seen was the elderly man, James Owens, quietly finishing his meal while the officer stood in front of him and accused him of asking people for money.

“He didn’t ask me for money,” Gallo said in the video. “He didn’t even ask for food. I brought him from outside. You guys suck for giving him a trespass.”

It turned out that Owens did have a history with the law and was guilty of public intoxication, resisting arrest and solicitation, and battery.

While an upset Owens finished his meal, Gallo added that he brought the man over and paid for his food. The McDonald’s Myrtle Beach manager told Gallo to lower his voice, to which he responded that the tone was his natural sound.

Eventually, Gallo was also asked to leave the restaurant and was told that he would have to go through civil court should he want a refund. The officer told him:

“I am the law. You need to get your stuff and leave. That is all. You want a refund? You have to go through corporate. I am not corporate.”

After leaving the establishment, the kind customer took the homeless man elsewhere to have a proper meal. In a tearful voice, Owens said, “I didn’t hurt anybody.”

Gallo agreed and yelled at the police officer from the parking lot, “You know what you’re doing is wrong. You know that already. Deep inside you, you know that.”

In an interview, Owens revealed that he walked to different restaurants that sometimes gave him free food. However, he never asked Gallo to buy him a meal. “It was wrong. They discriminate against me because I was homeless,” he said.

It turned out that Owens did have a history with the law and was guilty of public intoxication, resisting arrest and solicitation, and battery.

A similar unexpected turn of events happened to Stuart Jeffrey when he bought a homeless man food from McDonald’s. After he showed kindness, the man fat-shamed Jeffrey.