Yossi Gallo the man who filmed a viral video featuring a homeless man being removed from McDonalds has gone viral. Source - Myrtle Beach Online
A Good Samaritan thought he was carrying out a simple act of kindness when he ordered a McDonald's for a homeless man.
But not long after purchasing the food, staff at the Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, restaurant called the cops and told both of them to leave.
Yossi Gallo capturedrecorded the moment the police officer told the homeless man to leave - without finishing his meal - after customers and employees complained, reports Daily Mail.
In the clip, an angry Gallo is then seen berating the cop and management for treating the man so poorly.
Eventually Gallo was also asked to leave the restaurant for disorderly conduct, and ended up taking the unidentified man to another eatery.
As of Thursday night, the video had generated more than 40million views on Facebook, with many reacting angrily to the law enforcement response.
However, the Myrtle Beach mayor Brenda Bethune and police say that the incident as depicted in the film does not accurately portray exactly what happened and have defended the officer's response. She has not been identified.
The owner of the McDonald's location said that Gallo has behaved improperly on prior occasions and that this was not the first time he was asked to leave.
In the video, the officer said the homeless man needed to leave because he was asking McDonald's customers for money.
Gallo said the homeless man didn't ask him for money, and he couldn't understand why they couldn't finish their meals.
The restaurant manager then tells Gallo to stop yelling and says he is being disorderly.
McDonald's didn't immediately respond to an email.
The incident began after Gallo said he invited an unidentified man believed to be homeless into a McDonald's.
Gallo paid for a meal, which the man then began eating at a table inside the restaurant.
Gallo later told WMBF-TV that he did not agree with those who left crude comments about the officer. Photo / Facebook
"I waved him down, and I said, 'Hey, are you hungry?' and he said, 'Yes',' Gallo told WMBF-TV.
"So I went in there with him, and as soon as we went inside, the lady at the register says, 'You're not getting food.' She tells him he's not getting food."
Gallo said he was so angered by the cashier's actions that he began to record the incident on his cell phone.
In the video, a police officer is seen telling a man that he needed to leave the restaurant after he was done eating.
The officer then tells Gallo that she was called to the restaurant because 'multiple people have complained' about the man asking for money.
The manager once again comes over to Gallo and asks him to quiet down, though Gallo replies: "You guys suck."
The officer and the homeless man are then seen having a conversation. It appeared that the officer was waiting for him to finish his meal before escorting him out of the restaurant.
She then asks Gallo to leave the restaurant even as he continues filming.
When Gallo asks the officer if he could get a refund for his food, she says: "That's not me. I'm not civil court."
"[The manager] wants you removed," the officer tells Gallo. "You have to go. That's all."
Gallo then approaches the cashier register and asks for a reprinted receipt.
After finally getting his receipt, Gallo was then escorted out of the restaurant by the officer.
Gallo then invites the homeless man into his car and offers to buy him food elsewhere - as the officer watches them leave.
"You know what you're doing is wrong," Gallo yells at the officer as he gets into his car in the parking lot. "Deep inside you, you know that."
Myrtle Beach police told WMBF-TV that an officer was called to the premises after a McDonald's employee complained about a man who was asking them for money in the parking lot.
When the officer arrived, she was told that the man had gone inside and sat down to eat, according to police.
The employee asked the officer to issue a trespass warning to the man and that he be asked to leave.
"The officer advised the male of the request made by the business and issued the warning," Myrtle Beach Police Captain Joey Crosby said.
"A bystander, who was videotaping the incident, was also trespassed from the location, at the request of the manager, for what management deemed as disorderly behavior."
Joel Pellicci Jr, who owns the McDonald's franchise where the incident took place, released a statement saying: "At my restaurant, the goal is to provide our customers with a positive and welcoming experience each time they visit.
"Unfortunately, the individual in this video has a history of disruptive behavior and has been asked to leave by management and police on several occasions."
After Gallo posted the video on Facebook, a number of social media users left misogynistic comments about the officer.
