A South Seattle barista hits a man’s windshield with a hammer after she says he threatened her and her customers.
Emma Lee is the owner and sole employee of ‘Taste of Heaven Espresso.’ She is a big believer in standing up for yourself.
“At which point we are told to wait until it gets worse,” Lee told KIRO 7.
She said a customer crossed the line on Tuesday when he pulled into the drive-thru and demanded a refund.
“Respect and violence are two different things. I can deal with the disrespect, the violence is harsh, that’s where the line is crossed,” Lee explained.
Surveillance video from Lee’s store shows the man arguing with her outside his car.
She said customers tried to intervene and talk to the man for about 10 minutes, but it quickly escalated.
In the video the man says: ‘No one will miss you.’ Lee said she then felt threatened.
“Oh, okay, so you have no problem harming me, you make that clear,” she said.
The man then threw his drinks back at Lee as she closed the window of her drive-thru.
“It’s one thing to yell, it’s one thing to get angry, it’s one thing to even stand outside your car and try to threaten me,” Lee added. “But to actually have the action behind it, it changed things for me where I was like, ‘oh no.'”
Lee decided to take matters into his own hands with a hammer. A tool she carries to keep her safe in times of crisis.
“Personally, I think you thought you were going to throw drinks on me and ruin my day. You’re going to pay for a new windshield and it’s going to ruin your day,” she said.
Even with a broken windshield, Lee said he refused to leave, and she had no choice but to call the police.
“The police came and they let him leave, right? Obviously what happened was he attacked me, and I responded,” Lee explained.
Despite what everyone says, Lee believes that female workers, just like herself, should not be afraid to protect themselves.
“I know so many women who have not defended themselves in situations they certainly should and could have, because we know that the repercussions are more likely than not to fall on the woman who responds to the violence rather than the initial violence. ” she said.
Seattle police tell us no arrests have been made.
