An Indianapolis cop stopped at a local McDonald’s to grab an iced tea before going on shift
After taking a big gulp his throat started to burn down into his chest and he spit out the tea
He became violently ill and was taken to hospital where he stayed overnight before having an endoscopy the next day
Poison control determined the tea contained a heavy duty degreaser
The owner of the McDonald’s restaurant has said ‘We take this claim very seriously and are looking into the matter’
On the night of the incident the manager offered him another tea
A clean-living Indianapolis cop wound up in hospital after taking a gulp of iced tea that turned out to be contaminated with cleaning chemicals.
Before going on shift on Saturday night at about 10pm, Reserve Officer Paul Watkins stopped at an Indianapolis McDonald’s for a self-serve tea.
As usual he filled his cup half with unsweetened tea, but before filling the rest with sweet tea he noticed the tea looked dark.
He took the lid off the dispenser but decided that all seemed OK.
‘He filled his cup and took a big gulp and immediately his throat started burning down into his chest,’ his wife Jerilyn told ABC News.
Before going on shift on Saturday night, Reserve Officer Paul Watkins, pictured with his wife Jerilyn, stopped at a West Indianapolis McDonald’s for a self-serve tea, and ended up becoming violently ill
After he spit out the tea and told staff, the manager explained that employees had put cleaning liquid into the dispenser but had forgotten to put a cup over the nozzle
Watkins spit out the tea and immediately told staff at the counter that something was wrong.
The manager explained that employees had put cleaning liquid into the dispenser but had forgotten to put a cup over the nozzle, according to Jerilyn.
Jerilyn was not with him at the time but he called her from his police car, told her the story, and said he felt as though he just drank bleach.
Officer Watkins then became violently ill.
He called the police station and poison control, who determined that the tea dispenser was filled with a heavy duty degreasing chemical, according to the police report.
Watkins spent the night at IU Health Methodist Hospital and underwent an endoscopy the next day.
He still has problems swallowing, experiences a burning sensation in his throat, and is concerned about the long-term effects of having ingested chemicals.
‘My husband has never drank, never smoked, never done drugs,’ said Jerilyn. ‘This is just insane.’
Officer Watkins is concerned about the long term effects of ingesting the chemicals. ‘My husband has never drank, never smoked, never done drugs,’ said his wife Jerilyn
Poison Control determined that the tea dispenser was filled with a heavy duty degreasing chemical, according to the police report of the incident
McDonald’s has its own brand of degreaser solution for cleaning its restaurants
Elizabeth Henry, the owner of the McDonald’s on 38th Street where Watkins was served, issued a statement: ‘Serving my customers safe, high quality food and beverages is a top priority at our restaurants. We take this claim very seriously and are looking into the matter.’
A similar incident occurred at a McDonald’s in Muncie, Indiana, in 2013. A teenager has since filed a law suit, to which McDonald’s must respond by the end of March.
Sam Jacobs, Watkins’ lawyer, has said that he has not yet filed a law suit on his client’s behalf and hopes that he is able to work out something with McDonald’s before doing so.
‘He never wants this to happen to anybody else,’ Jacobs said.
Referring to the night of the incident, Jacobs said: ‘The irony of this all was that manager asked Paul if he wanted another cup or glass of tea and told one of the employees, “Hey, get this guy another tea”.’
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