BERRY HILL, Tenn. (WKRN) -- The Berry Hill Police Department is asking for the public's help finding a man who allegedly threatened a fast food worker with a knife.
The incident happened at a McDonald's on 8th Avenue South. A disgruntled customer reportedly ordered a meal, ate some of it, threw the rest in the trash, and then wanted his meal replaced.
Since the man tossed the food into the garbage and only had a receipt, the McDonald's managers said they could not replace the meal.
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This made the customer angry, so much so that he tried to grab the female employee's phone from across the counter, according to police.
"What are you doing?" the worker asked on surveillance footage.
"You're going to get my food," the suspect said.
"No I'm not giving you your food!" the employee replied. "Don't touch me! Don't touch me! You're tripping now."
"There was a physical assault that happened there. He got very handsy with her, flashed a knife, threatened her," Berry Hill Sgt. Tony Russo explained.
That's when the man decided to go around the counter. As he approached, a male employee asked the female employee if she knew the customer. She said she didn't know him.
While on the move, the suspect announced, "I'm gonna come back there and get my-"
The male employee interrupted, saying, "No, no, not today, bro."
That's when the quick-thinking male employee grabbed a cart and used it to block the customer's path. As the suspect tried to get past the two workers, the male employee kept saying, "Hold on, player."
"The coworker is sort of heroic," News 2's Andy Cordan said. "The guy's coming back, he's going after a woman, the guy sticks a cart in his way, and that kind of defused the situation."
"Yeah, he's definitely a hero in my books. He got in the way, and if there wasn't anything in the way for him to put in the way, he was going to put himself in harm's way, so he's definitely a hero," Russo replied.
As the female employee called 911, the man grabbed his black backpack and walked away. The victims described what happened to law enforcement, who had their body cameras on.
"He gave me a paper, a receipt, saying that he had that food and it was messed up, and I said, 'Well, I need the food to replace it.' And he's like, 'I'm diabetic. Give me my food.' And that's when he tried to reach for my phone, and I backed up. He said, 'Well I'm coming back there to make it,'" the female employee explained in the video.
"I was up here with her, he was coming through the thing. That's when I see him going into his pocket. I thought he had a gun, but I see him pulling a knife, so I grabbed this," the male employee recalled.
"He flashed a knife, threatened people; he went as far as to grab her phone off camera, but it's still an assault, still an intimidation, still a felony," Russo told News 2.
According to the McDonald's workers, after the suspect left the restaurant, he went to a nearby Mapco and reportedly stole beer and candy.
Authorities said the man is now facing aggravated assault charges for putting the McDonald's clerk in fear for her life. If you recognize the suspect photographed above, you are asked to call the Berry Hill Police Department at 615-297-4701.