Manager says man slapped her over wrong pizza seasoning, Michigan police video shows

A customer was caught on camera slapping a manager because his $5 pizza order was wrong, and it just landed him jail time, media outlets report.

Joseph Thorpe, 38, walked into a Little Caesars in Michigan on July 9 after finding the pizza he ordered was “not prepared to his liking,” Livonia police said Thursday in a Facebook post. Thorpe dropped the pizza box next to the cash register and began waving his arms as he talked to the manager, video shows.

Then another employee called 911 to report the belligerent customer, video shows.

“We have a customer threatening the other manager,” the employee told police.

While the employee was still on the 911 call, Thorpe swung across the counter and hit the manager, video shows.

“He just slapped her!” the caller told a 911 dispatcher. Other people in the restaurant can be heard screaming in the background of the 911 call.

Thorpe left the store with another woman and drove away in a car, police said. But another customer followed them outside and took a photo of their license plate, police said.

The customer gave the pictures to detectives, which helped lead to the arrest, police said.

Kelsi Beckwith, the manager who was slapped, said he hit her because the $5 pizza had Italian seasoning instead of Parmesan, according to WXYZ.

“I was getting ready to refund his money,” Beckwith told the Detroit TV station. “I turned back towards him, he legit stepped into it, brought his hand back as far as he could and slapped the crap out of me.”

Thorpe pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault and battery on July 26, and a judge ordered him to serve 20 days in jail and pay a $750 fine, police said.

This story was originally published August 1, 2019 at 12:17 PM with the headline "Manager says man slapped her over wrong pizza seasoning, Michigan police video shows."