Photo Courtesy of Kasey Young Facebook
A white Louisiana gas station clerk has been canned after she was filmed throwing a bucket of cold water on a Black homeless man in freezing temperatures.
Kasey Young stormed out of the Triple S Food Mart gas station and convenience store in Baton Rouge on December 26. The 44-year-old former employee carried a bucket of water with her as an unidentified man recorded the video. She live-streamed the entire incident on Facebook.
In the footage, Kasey’s agitation with the homeless man was apparent as she said, “Move! Not telling y’all again. Move it! Clean this s*** the f*** up. I’m sick of this s***. Y’all got my whole f****ing floor looking like a…”
The homeless man dressed in a black puffy coat began to move and responded, “I’m doing it.”
The man filming the egregious video also yelled for people to disperse from the property.
People came for the insolent woman on her Facebook page.
Kristin Lisi wrote, “Working at a gas station you can’t tell me you are not one check away from being out there with them??? Better hope you are never down on your luck ”
Larissa Britz wrote, “In what world is this appropriate to do to someone? It is cold out, and you decide to pour water on someone? Someone that clearly has nowhere warm to go… this is absolutely wrong! Help people.. don’t make their situation worse. Not only have you made their situation worse, but you likely soaked their only clothes they have. May karma come your way..p.s- who are you to judge someone in this situation.. your criminal record speaks for itself.”
“How u gone throw water and cold water on somebody and it ain’t even your store you are wrong they need to get rid of her that’s not right, and it’s cold too so hey better be glad he ain’t my relative,” Ronda Smith chimed in.
On December 27 and after the video went viral, the owner of the Triple S Food Mart, Abdul Muflahi, denounced Kasey’s behavior during a press conference, “When I got the news, I didn’t speak to the employee too much. All I told her was to leave the property because we do not handle situations like that.”
Community activist Larry McGriffin also spoke out against the former employee’s horrifying actions.
“For someone to get ice-cold water thrown on them in these below-freezing temperatures is just disrespectful. It also could’ve hurt this person physically.”
According to WAFB, Baton Rouge Mayor Sharon Weston Broome confirmed that the man had been taken to a homeless shelter, amid the cruel act. Weston Broome also issued a statement.
“An incident over the holiday weekend involving a person who appears to be homeless has caught the attention of our community. This incident emphasizes the continued need for our outreach efforts. In this case, several community partners worked together to locate the individual, bring them to the Bridge Center and connect them with additional services.”
She continued, “The Behavioral Health Homeless Outreach Team, better known as the HOT Team, also visited the business where the incident occurred. The business was made aware of the support offered by the HOT Team to residents experiencing homelessness and crisis. We hope something like this never happens again considering the available resources.”
“The Mayor’s HOT Team is a city-wide joint effort between Baton Rouge Police Department (BRPD), East Baton Rouge Sheriff’s Office (EBRSO) and Behavioral Health Specialists designed to conduct comprehensive assessments, care coordination, and clinical intervention to the homeless persons in the community. The HOT Team connects with people who struggle with mental illness or behavioral health concerns and are experiencing unsheltered homelessness, living in encampment areas, or involved in panhandling.”
“If the public needs to connect to HOT team, they may contact the Mayor’s Office at 225.389.3100,” Weston Broome concluded.
Outside of rightfully losing her job, Kasey is now facing simple battery charges.
Ironically, another employee at the gas station said that Kasey had a reputation for giving food to homeless folks in the Baton Rouge location and that she had just lost her cool.