Police officer sues Dunkin' Donuts after employee spit into his coffee. The employee insists it wasn't because he was a cop.

A Wisconsin police officer has filed a lawsuit against Dunkin' Donuts after an employee admitted to spitting into the officer's coffee.

 

While the employee admitted the act, he insisted that he didn't spit into the coffee because the customer was a cop.

What are the details?

The incident took place in Menomonee Falls in 2017 when employee Brian Colon spit into Officer Andrew Martin's coffee. The act was caught on surveillance camera.

Colon said he spit into the cop's coffee because the officer was reportedly being rude to Colon's pregnant fiancée, who was also working in the store at the time of the incident. Colon insisted that Martin referred to Magalie Gutierrez as a "bitch" after she allegedly got the officer's order wrong.

Martin said he left the store and noticed that there was something unnatural in his drink.

Martin's attorney, Ryan Ogren, said, "It was a 'lugie.' It was balled-up spit. Normally [Martin] would order a black coffee so there wouldn't be anything in there at all."

Martin reportedly re-entered the coffee shop and confronted Colon, Gutierrez, and the manager. All parties initially denied having anything to do with spitting in Martin's coffee. It was only later, upon a review of surveillance footage, that Martin could reportedly be seen spitting into the cop's drink.

After an investigation into the matter, Colon confessed to spitting in Martin's coffee and pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct. He was sentenced to four days in jail.

What about the lawsuit?

Martin filed a suit against the company on Tuesday, insisting that Colon's act put Martin's health at risk and spit into the coffee specifically because Martin is a police officer. Martin underwent testing for HIV and other transmissible diseases because of the incident.

Martin is suing Dunkin' Donuts for damages of pain and suffering, and to recoup the money he spent on medical testing and related expenses. The officer has not publicly discussed whether he did, in fact, refer to Gutierrez as a "bitch."

Victory Harding, another of Martin's lawyers, said, "Something like this just shouldn't happen to [Martin]. Whether he called [Gutierrez] a bitch or not doesn't make any difference."

What else?

A spokesperson for Dunkin' Donuts issued a statement.

"While we are unable to comment on pending litigation, Dunkin' is committed to treating all guests with dignity and respect," the statement read. "All Dunkin' restaurants are independently owned and operated by individual franchisees, who are independent business owners and are solely responsible for their own employees and the day-to-day operation of their restaurants."