Man arrested after pushing High Point McDonald’s employee’s head towards fryer for ‘disrespecting’ wife, reports show

HIGH POINT, N.C. (WGHP) — A man has been charged with assault after allegedly attacking employees at a McDonald’s in High Point.

Dwayne Waden, 57, was charged with assault and battery on Dec. 28, 2023. He is a pastor at Elevated Life International on Westchester Drive in High Point.

According to High Point police reports, his wife called him to the McDonald’s on South Main Street, where she worked as a manager-in-training, and told him that employees were “disrespecting” her.

Waden allegedly came into the McDonald’s and wrapped his hands around the neck of an employee, pushing his head towards a deep fryer and punching him in the face “several times.”

It took several employees to pull Waden off of the victim, according to the report.

EMS checked out the victim, but he was not taken to the hospital. He reportedly had a large contusion on his forehead and right eye and scratches on his neck.

The report indicates that officers saw store video of the incident and arrested and charged Waden with assault.

Waden and his wife LaToya, the manager-in-training, shared their side of the story off-camera.

The couple said LaToya had been working at that McDonald’s since May 2023. They said she was disrespected by the victim, expletives were directed at her and she reported it to supervisors several times.

The day of the incident, she confirmed she did call her husband. He came to the restaurant, told her to grab her stuff, clock out and leave.

The Wadens say the victim allegedly followed her when she was getting ready to leave the restaurant and was taunting her.

Her husband said he did step in to stop it soon after the altercation began near the fryer and ended near the front of the restaurant, but he says he did not push his head in the fryer.

Regarding the incident, a local McDonald’s franchisee said the employee who is the spouse of the alleged attacker is no longer employed with the organization.

In a statement, McDonald’s said, “The safety and security of our employees and customers is our top priority, and I was appalled by this act of violence in my restaurant last week. Law enforcement was called immediately when this incident occurred, and we will continue to cooperate with the authorities on this matter.”