Back in 2017, Tatyana Hargrove first made headlines after Bakersfield police officers misidentified her as a wanted suspect. And while arresting, Hargrove was bitten by a police canine while assaulting two police officers resisting arrest.
The Bakersfield NAACP, on behalf of Hargrove, sued the Bakersfield Police Department (BPD) for “civil rights violations,” and the jury sided with the BPD when the DA declined to bring charges against her.
Now, after CCTV evidence showed her spitting on a hamburger patty that a Bakersfield police officer had eaten and rubbed hamburger buns on the ground, as reported by KGET. Hargrove, a McDonald’s employee, made headlines once more!
The publication added that prosecutor Gina Pearl said that a different McDonald’s employee heard Hargrove spit into her mouth as she prepared the meal, surveillance footage shows Hargrove wiping her lips with her arm later, proving she spit on the food.
The report states that the officer was in the drive-through lane in a black and white patrol cruiser while wearing his full uniform. And because she knew the burger was going to be served to a police officer, Deputy Carly Snow, who conducted the investigation, testified that Hargrove claimed she yelled those phrases.
The phrases were “black lives matter” and “f*ck the pigs,” the words which Hargrove yelled while allegedly tampering with the officer’s food.
Herman Trevino, the manager of McDonald’s said that he also heard Hargrove shout “black lives matter” and “f*ck the pigs,” while claiming that he told Hargrove not to do it when deputies interviewed Trevino about the incident.
Trevino told a Kerns County deputy, “She dropped the buns and I thought she was just being funny… so I told her, I was like ‘don’t give him those buns,’” Trevino was also the one who reported the incident to the police.
When the deputy arrived at Hargrove’s house, she was arrested. Hargrove said that she was in a rush, dropped a burger, and still used it. When questioned about the incident although she said she didn’t spit on the hamburger, according to KABC.
Hargrove told the deputy, saying, “When you’re in the back cooking and you’re in a rush, like sometimes you’ll be like, ‘Oh ok, it’s a five-second rule’, which is very inconsiderate, don’t get me wrong. But, unfortunately, I chose to make the decision which is very odd.”
Things for the accused didn’t go well at the preliminary hearing. Judge Larrie R. Brainard thought there was sufficient evidence to file felony charges, and he also thought Hargrove should serve jail time although Deputy Public Defender Lexi Blythe, Hargrove’s attorney, argued there wasn’t enough evidence for the felony filed against her client.
“Tatyana Hargrove entered the plea before Judge Charles R. Brehmer. Under the terms of the plea deal, Tatyana Hargrove agreed to serve 45 days in jail, perform 100 hours of community service and receive mental health counseling.” The KGET added when the former McDonald’s employee Tatyana Hargrove was facing serious consequences’ the public defender convinced the former McDonald’s employee to take a plea deal and admit to the “willful mingling of poison or a harmful substance with food.”
“It is absolutely unacceptable to target police officers in our community,” Prosecutor Gina Pearl said, hoping that Tatyana Hargrove makes the most of the opportunity because she has the chance to complete probation and turn her life around after serving her jail time.
“Today, the defendant took responsibility for her disgusting and dangerous actions,” Pearl added.
Watch the video below for more details:
Sources: Taphaps, Turnto23, Kget
