Tim Hortons drive-thru worker appears to throw hot coffee at customer in video

Newly released surveillance footage from a Tim Hortons in Michigan appears to show two drive-thru employees and a customer getting heated over coffee — and then heated by coffee, in the customer's case.

A man taking legal action against Tim Hortons in relation to the incident claims that one of the company's workers assaulted him with hot coffee at a Westland, Mich., location on Oct. 27.

The employee, identified only as a 19-year-old male, is also accused of uttering racial slurs, spitting at, and throwing "donut holes" (the American term for Timbits) at the customer.

"It's a felonious assault," said the customer's lawyer, Majed Moughni, to NBC affiliate WDIV News. "He threw hot coffee, it struck him in the face. Not happy about it. No one should have coffee thrown on their face."

Tim Hortons employee allegedly throws hot coffee at customer

9 years ago

Duration 0:28

Newly released video shows altercation at Michigan doughnut shop

The video, released this week as a result of the lawsuit, first shows the customer in his car at the Tim Hortons drive-thru window speaking to a female employee.

According to West Michigan CBS-affiliate WWMT, the altercation began when the customer asked this employee to throw away an old cup of coffee from his car.

The woman at the drive-thru window refused to do this, prompting the customer to drive away without taking the coffee he'd just ordered.

Just as his car is leaving, however, another employee approaches the window and throws the hot coffee in the driver's direction. Whether or not the customer was hit by the coffee cannot be determined by watching the video, as the car moves out of frame before the cup of coffee lands.

The male Tim Hortons employee who threw the cup can then be seen yelling out of the window and spitting.

Moments later, the customer reappears at the closed window on foot and throws his cold coffee at it. The 19-year-old Tim Hortons drive-thru worker responds by throwing what is believed to be Timbits at the man and screaming in his direction.

"My client was called an Arab, and [told] that he should go back to the Middle East," said Moughni to WWMT, quoting the employee as saying, "This is what you guys do in the Middle East."

The customer told the station that he had tried to contact Tim Hortons before taking legal action, but that the company didn't respond.  

Tim Hortons released a statement on Tuesday in response to the incident:

"Guest safety is of paramount concern to Tim Hortons," it reads. "We were aware of the incident in October and the franchisee has taken the appropriate steps to address the matter."

Meanwhile, in Canada, Tim Hortons customers continue to be on the lookout for goats, snakes and deer at their local coffee shops.