VANCOUVER, Wash., April 15 (UPI) -- A sheriff's deputy in Washington state has sued Burger King, saying the chain is responsible for a worker who spit on his Whopper last year.
Ed Bylsma, a deputy with Clark County in southern Washington, filed the lawsuit Tuesday in federal court in Portland, Ore., The Vancouver Columbian reported.
Bylsma is seeking financial compensation and an order that Burger King improve its hiring and supervision policies.
Gary Herb, 22, a former employee of a Burger King in Vancouver, pleaded guilty last year to third-degree assault on an officer. Herb was sentenced to three months.
Bylsma, who was in uniform and driving a patrol car, received the contaminated Whopper in March 2009 at the drive-thru window. He said he was suspicious because the employee who handed it to him would not look him in the eye, so he took the sandwich apart and found a large glob of saliva, which was matched to Herb through DNA testing.
Burger King and Kaizen Restaurants, the Beaverton, Ore., manager of the Burger King in Vancouver, released a statement saying all employees involved were suspended and fired.
