Michigan McDonald's Worker Burned After Customer Throws Hot Coffee

A customer at a McDonald's in Buena Vista Township outside Saginaw tore the lid off a cup of hot coffee and threw it at an employee after a prolonged argument over an online order refund, leaving the worker burned and prompting a swift public response that identified the suspect within minutes of police posting the footage.

Eyewitness Tara Martus filmed part of the nearly two-minute exchange, which the Buena Vista Police Department later posted to Facebook seeking help identifying the woman. The video shows the customer claiming she had been waiting more than an hour for her online order and demanding a refund. Staff explained that the breakfast portion of her order had been automatically canceled by the restaurant's system because breakfast service had already closed for the day. The employee also told her, repeatedly, that a refund had been issued and would take up to 48 hours to credit back to her account. According to Detective Russ Pahssen, the customer had placed an online order and sought a refund specifically for two sandwiches.

The confrontation continued to escalate. At one point the manager told the customer, "You are not listening," and the customer replied, "I'm listening." The manager responded, "No, you are trying to argue with me," before attempting to end the exchange with "you have a great day" and walking away. That is when the customer removed the lid from her cup, leaned over the service counter, and threw the scalding coffee onto the worker's back. The worker screamed. The customer stormed out, shouting "F you, b !" and "Catch that hot a coffee!"

The worker sustained burns in the assault. Local police and several outlets reported the injuries as minor burns; a separate account described second-degree burns. The degree of injury has not been officially confirmed through medical records or a formal police medical release.

The public response was almost immediate. Detective Pahssen said he received over 100 tips after the video was posted and that the suspect was identified "in two minutes." The Buena Vista Police Department edited its Facebook post less than an hour after uploading the footage, noting the suspect had been identified. NYPost reported the woman was identified by police as Casharra Brown, though that name has not been formally confirmed in police statements from other outlets covering the case. As of the Friday following the incident, police had not located the suspect.

Buena Vista PD submitted paperwork to the local prosecutor requesting the woman be charged with felony assault. MLive reported the department specifically recommended she face felonious assault charges. No arrest had been announced at the time of reporting.