‘Go and die’: Tennessee woman asked to speak to a McDonald’s manager. Police say a worker pulled out a knife instead

A McDonald’s employee in Nashville, Tennessee, was arrested after allegedly pulling a knife on a customer following a drive-thru dispute, according to WSMV. Police identified the employee as 38-year-old Cedric Johnson, who now faces a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon following the incident at a location on Vantage Way Court.

The trouble started when an unnamed female customer navigated the drive-thru and found herself in a disagreement with staff. She parked her vehicle and walked inside, and her stated intention was to speak with a manager regarding the earlier interaction at the drive-thru window. She told police that she was met by Johnson instead.

According to an arrest affidavit, the interaction between the woman and Johnson quickly turned hostile. The document alleges that Johnson insulted the customer and told her to “go and die.” Investigators say that Johnson reached into his right pants pocket and produced a knife, and the woman reported that he moved the blade in a circular motion directly in front of her.

Johnson and the customer disagree about when she started filming

The customer told police she was scared and immediately backed up before calling them. Johnson did not deny pulling out the knife when speaking with police, but he offered a very different explanation for his actions. He claimed that he only produced the weapon because the customer was recording him with her cellphone.

According to his version of events, his intent was simply to get her to stop filming him. He told police he wielded the knife “without saying anything more to her.” However, the customer’s account directly contradicts this timeline.

She told investigators that she only began using her cellphone to record the interaction after Johnson had already pulled the knife out. This discrepancy matters as video evidence could clarify the sequence of events. However, it remains unclear at this time if any cellphone footage from the customer or surveillance footage from the restaurant will be made available to the public.

Under Tennessee law, the charge of aggravated assault is applied when someone intentionally or knowingly commits an assault that involves the use or display of a deadly weapon. The state defines assault to include intentionally or knowingly causing another person to reasonably fear imminent bodily injury. Aggravated assault of that kind is a Class C felony, and a violation can also bring a fine of up to $15,000.

Johnson is currently awaiting his day in court to address these charges. As the allegations have not been proven in a court of law, he is presumed innocent and is entitled to present a defense.

Days earlier, police in Nashville arrested another man after an affidavit alleged he broke an employee’s arm at a different McDonald’s on 8th Avenue South, and he is also charged with aggravated assault. According to that affidavit, employees told police the man had been making a cashier uncomfortable, and the affidavit says the injury, which required surgery, happened when a coworker escorted him toward the door. In Kentucky, a woman was charged with first-degree wanton endangerment after allegedly pointing a rifle at a KFC worker over a delayed order.

Johnson’s next scheduled court appearance is set for November 20, and it could clarify whether any video of the confrontation exists, as the customer and Johnson gave police competing accounts of when she started filming.