The Tim Hortons Fight That Turned Deadly

Indexado: 2026-05-21

[00:00:00]75-year-old Anita Grayson was going to get some coffee at Tim Hortons in Fort Wayne, Indiana. But there was a problem with her order, so she went inside. And that's when things went sideways. Nita got into an argument with employees, which escalated. Then things got physical. Everyone ended up down on the floor and Anita ended up dead. Then rumors started circulating about what happened and police responded by issuing a statement and releasing the security video. FWPD homicide detectives and crime scene personnel conducted a full death investigation. Detectives interviewed witnesses, collected and reviewed surveillance video, gathered evidence, and fully documented the scene. No one's been arrested, but some members of the community think someone should be. No human being should go to get coffee and die on a floor from a heart attack.

[00:00:56]>> We will break down the video frame by frame and answer the question, should someone be arrested?

[00:01:05]Nita Grayson was 75 years old and she was just going for some coffee and she goes inside Tim Hortons and does not come out alive. What happened inside? It was all caught on video, but not everyone is seeing the same thing. We're gonna show you the video, break it down, show you the law, and then answer the question, should someone be arrested?

[00:01:31]I'm Vinnie Palletan. Let's investigate.

[00:01:49]This story obviously is incredibly tragic. Anita Grayson, 75 years old. And and when you think of a story like this, think of it like if that's your mom or your grandma and and she's going for coffee and she doesn't come out alive.

[00:02:07]Like that doesn't make sense.

[00:02:09]It makes zero sense. She's 75 years old going for coffee. Why would anything like that turn into violence or turn into death?

[00:02:19]So, that's really the headline in this entire story. But there's there's more levels to this that you have to understand um as we get ready to take a look at this video. And it begins with the Tim Horton's employees.

[00:02:32]The employee was a juvenile, 17 years old. So you have a 75-year-old who's a senior who we like to protect in society, but the employee is not an adult. He's a juvenile, 17 years old. So you have one part of society that we try to protect, which are juveniles, children, and seniors. But these two are the ones that come into conflict. And that's kind of the problem with this story is where do your sympathies lie? Where where should our systems sympathies lie? With a juvenile or with the senior adult right now on Facebook, a lot of community outrage in this case because of the headline, you know, 75-year-old woman goes in to get some coffee, ends up dead, right?

[00:03:26]That's gonna cause outrage. Something needs to be done. How on earth does that happen? And and no one's in trouble for it really.

[00:03:36]And and you can understand that.

[00:03:40]But what happened locally in the community is that all of a sudden people were like, "What's going on here?" Right? Is is is there is there more to this story?

[00:03:51]Why aren't police acting? So the the Fort Wayne Police Department issues a statement and basically says there is a false narrative out in the community about what happened inside of the Tim Hortons and as a result we're going to tell you the facts of what happened and we're going to release the video and show it to you. The the problem is when they released the video, the community outrage did not end because people are looking at that video and different people are seeing different things as to what happens between this 75year-old woman and this 17-year-old employee and his uh shift leader who is 20 years old.

[00:04:37]So, same people or different people looking at the same video are seeing a different scenario. So, let's get right to it. I'm going to show you this video and we'll take a look at what happened inside Tim Hortons. There's no audio, so you don't hear the back and forth, but you can see and read the body language and what's happening. So, let's take a look. And remember, police believe this shows that, you know, okay, this is the real story of what happened and maybe no one should be arrested.

[00:05:08]Typical. Here she comes.

[00:05:12]She's had some problem with her order and that's why she's entering and I guess looking for someone to speak to about her issue. Now, customer service tells you, right, the customer is always right, etc., etc. Um, but sometimes we've seen customers who are unruly. So, I don't know what kind of day she's having. I don't know what kind of day the folks behind the counter are having. But that could add to this.

[00:05:39]But let's see who is the aggressor in all of this. Who is the one who takes this from a disagreement to an argument into a physical altercation, which is where all of this ends.

[00:05:59]So again, no one yet has approached her, but you can see that she is speaking and obviously voicing um her issue, her complaint with what happened with her order.

[00:06:14]And here things get a little closer. You can see the distance between the two.

[00:06:20]His arms going out a little bit, her arm going out a little bit as well as they try to explain what's going on here.

[00:06:27]She's pointing. Things are escalating.

[00:06:29]Here comes the shift leader now telling her to leave and she approaches. The shift leader now in between the two.

[00:06:37]The shift leader now puts a hands on that's that's what people are seeing that the shift leader is the first one to put hands on anyone. But then things escalate from there and now you can see that it's the 20-year-old shift leader who is hand-to-hand combat at this moment with the 75-year-old. And they they both go down onto the floor and they're on the ground.

[00:07:04]And now things are separating and she's still on the ground. But here she is.

[00:07:09]She's getting up and this is significant, right? Like the altercation. Oh, you see the circle right there? That's a clump of the 20-year-old's hair. That is a clump of the Tim Hortons employees hair. And now you see Anita grabbing the hair and putting it in her pocket. Why? Not sure what's going on, but obviously a very uh traumatic event. She goes and sits down after all that happens.

[00:07:40]She sits down, but then she's in distress and collapses to the floor. The employees bring a cup of water out.

[00:07:49]Obviously, 911's called and and she dies. Now, she has some pre-existing conditions as well. Uh but the results, you know, aren't in yet on on cause and and manner of death in the case, but you saw the the altercation. What I saw was an argument that escalated. Anita steps in. She's pointing the finger AC, you know, encroaching on the space. The 20-year-old stepping between the 75year-old and the 17-year-old looks like she's the first one to physically touch someone else and puts her hand on the shoulder. And that's when Anita then responds to all of that.

[00:08:32]Okay. Now, let's put up on the screen what the law is. Okay. And give you an idea of what happened there.

[00:08:43]The general right to defense. This is when you are allowed to use some level of force to defend yourself or others.

[00:08:49]In Indiana, a person is justified in using reasonable force against another person to protect the person or a third person, which in this case arguably is the 17-year-old, from what the person reasonably believes to be the imminent use of unlawful force.

[00:09:12]Okay, so it doesn't require actual response to physical force, but the a reasonable belief that there will be an imminent use of unlawful force. So the question here is for the 20-year-old who places her hand on Anita's shoulder and begins the physical part of this back and forth.

[00:09:39]Did she reasonably believe that she needed to put her hand on the shoulder to stop imminent unlawful use of force? an attack by 75year-old Anita Grayson.

[00:09:56]Now, it's not a clear-cut case, right?

[00:09:57]There's some gray area here. There is some gray area as to, okay, what exactly happened in in that moment? Who initiated the contact? Is it imminent?

[00:10:08]It's it's it's a judgment call that has to be made.

[00:10:13]So, what I want to do here because a part of the outrage and and what's happening here is response to the Fort Wayne Police Department. So, as I said, Fort Wayne released that video, but they also released a statement. So, let's take a look at the statement um to see their perspective on what happened, what you just saw in that video.

[00:10:41]The Fort Wayne Police Department recognizes that any loss of life is tragic. When the circumstances surrounding a death are not immediately clear, those circumstances must be thoroughly and professionally investigated. Following the incident that occurred at the Tim Hortons on May 13, 2026 involving 75-year-old Anita Grayson and a store employee, FWPD homicide detectives and crime scene personnel conducted a full death investigation. Detectives interviewed witnesses, collected and reviewed surveillance video, gathered evidence, and fully documented the scene. The Allen County Coroner's Office was contacted and an autopsy was requested.

[00:11:25]At this time, the cause and manner of death remain pending. The completed investigative file was sent to the Allen County Prosecutor's Office for review on May 19th, 2026.

[00:11:39]FWPD initially released information about this case out of respect for Miss Grayson's family and in an effort to avoid causing additional distress following the tragic loss of a loved one. However, a dangerously false narrative along with poor quality video circulating publicly has led to significant public concern and misinformation.

[00:12:04]For that reason, and because it is in the public interest, FWPD is releasing the facts of the case along with a clear and complete video of the events that occurred inside Tim Hortons. These are the facts. At approximately 8:09 a.m., Miss Grayson entered the Tim Hortons to address an issue with an order she had received through the drive-thru. Once inside, Miss Grayson began berating a 17-year-old female employee. A 20-year-old shift lead then stepped between Miss Grayson and the juvenile employee and repeatedly told Miss Grayson to leave the business.

[00:12:46]Miss Grayson then appeared to move around the shift lead toward the juvenile employee. The shift lead placed her hands against Miss Grayson in an apparent effort to prevent her from reaching the juvenile employee. Miss Grayson then forcefully shoved the shift lead backward. At 8:12 a.m., Ms. Grayson then struck the shift lead on the left side of the nose with her right hand. At that point, the shift lead reacted and moved toward Miss Grayson while swinging her arms in an attempt to strike her.

[00:13:20]During the physical altercation, Miss Grayson grabbed at the shift lead's face, leaving scratches and knocking off her glasses. Miss Grayson then grabbed the shift lead by the hair and pulled her to the ground and rolled on top of her. The shift lead can be seen swatting at Grayson's arm as she is being held by her hair. Two Tim Horton's employees moved in and attempted to separate them, but struggled to get the shift lead's hair out of Grayson's hand. During the struggle, Miss Grayson pulled a chunk of hair from the shift lead's head, leaving a raw area on the top of her head.

[00:14:02]The parties eventually separated. The shift lead's hair can be seen falling from Miss Grayson's hand onto the floor.

[00:14:10]The employees retreated behind the counter and Miss Grayson sat down at a table and began speaking on her cell phone. At one point, Miss Grayson picked up the shift lead's hair from the floor and placed it into her bag.

[00:14:26]At 8:22 a.m., Miss Grayson laid down on the floor. The shift lead noticed and went to check on her, bringing her a cup of water. An additional employee also checked on Miss Grayson as she laid on the floor.

[00:14:40]A FWPD officer then arrived and found Ms. Grayson unresponsive.

[00:14:47]Medics arrived and began life-saving measures. Miss Grayson was transported from the scene and was later pronounced deceased by medical personnel.

[00:14:56]FWPD understands the public concern surrounding this case. We also recognize the importance of transparency, accuracy, and allowing the investigative and prosecutorial review process to proceed based on the full body of evidence, not incomplete video clips or inaccurate public narratives.

[00:15:19]The tone of this release to me is clear.

[00:15:24]The police do not think that a crime occurred, at least not a crime by the Tim Horton's employees.

[00:15:33]The case and the investigation goes to the prosecutors and prosecutors ultimately will make the decision on whether or not to proceed. Uh autopsy, cause and manner of death. Um they need that as well to to make a determination.

[00:15:49]But police can make a determination and make an arrest, right? It it happens all the time. There's a fight, something happens, people go in, they throw handcuffs on someone, they arrest them, they make the initial charges, then prosecutors come in, and they take a look at the case, and they decide what to do with it. But here, it's clear that police, the investigators of this, do not believe that the Horton's employees did anything wrong here.

[00:16:14]And it really comes down to that the the moment, right? When things go from a verbal argument, right, berating the employees, right? Okay, I get it. Sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me, right? So, people yelling at each other. Yeah, it's a problem. I want you to leave. You can then call police and ask them to trespass her if she won't leave after you have asked her to leave. Right?

[00:16:39]That's one way that uh the employees could proceed in a situation where you've got a customer who is berating you and is being unruly. The the the qu the big deal here though is things cross a line from mere words to physical contact and police agreed with what I saw.

[00:17:01]Right. The physical contact is initiated by the Tim Hortons employee by the 20-year-old who was stepping in. how and puts and puts her hand on Anita's shoulder.

[00:17:12]But the question is why is she doing that? Is she justified in doing that?

[00:17:16]And in the way police wrote that, their conclusion is yeah, she is intervening right to protect the 17-year-old.

[00:17:28]And that comes down to the law that I told you about. Is there some sort of imminent threat? Is it a reasonable perception of what is happening in the moment? The video tells most of the story but not the entire story because without the audio, you don't know exactly what is being said. Are there threats? What is the the volume? And that's where the witnesses come into play.

[00:17:53]And investigators said they spoke with all the witnesses. And I think that that that combined with the video is the basis for their opinion here.

[00:18:03]But this is not clear-cut. There is some gray area here because now you've got the physical confrontation initiated by the 20-year-old. Then Anita responds, but then the 20-year-old responds by stepping out and escalating the physicality of what is happening.

[00:18:25]And the fact that she's 75 years old could play a role in in a way a grand jury, a district attorney or a jury at trial would see this situation.

[00:18:37]But it's extremely serious because Anita is not alive.

[00:18:44]And the the question is, did this 20-year-old cause the death?

[00:18:49]And if she did cause the death, was it justified or not justified under the circumstances?

[00:18:57]And that's the determination. So far, police have said justified. The DA could see it very, very differently.

[00:19:07]So, at this point, this case is not over. The final determination has not been made. But from my perspective, this one could go either way.

[00:19:20]The community reaction is not just okay this is what the community is saying. It can also impact the way public officials like district attorneys and prosecutors see a case. So it's important uh to understand how the community is reacting to what happened to Anita. I want to begin by showing you something that was posted on X by W15 multimedia journalist Ethan Dalan. Um, and this is from the city council who who talked about it.

[00:19:49]>> No human being should go to get coffee and die on a floor from a heart attack.

[00:19:55]I was talking to my brother and he sent me that video and I could not believe it.

[00:20:00]But what blew my mind even more was when I got two emails.

[00:20:06]Um, one from uh, Fort Wayne Police Department statement about it. When I read it, my jaw just dropped.

[00:20:15]Uh, it felt very much like victim blaming and that is not okay.

[00:20:20]Um, we have got to do better.

[00:20:25]We have got to do better. This is a community that we all love. Um, we have to treat each other better. So, that was completely disappointing.

[00:20:35]>> Okay. So again, there's a prime example, someone from the city council who sees that video much differently than police saw the video. And it's amazing, right?

[00:20:47]It's the same exact images. We're all watching the same thing, but people are seeing different things. That's why this is not an easy call. Here's a statement from the mayor, uh, Sharon Tucker. The incident at the Tim Hortons on Ice Way has raised concerns in the community. I want the public to know that the Fort Wayne Police Department has kept me informed of the investigation that they're conducting. It's being performed with professionalism and detail. It's important for each of us uh to not draw conclusions until all the facts have been released. I'm hopeful that the video and narrative that will be released by the Fort Wayne Police Department later today will help alleviate the uneasiness many individuals have felt over the past few days. Well, it didn't. It didn't.

[00:21:30]Uh, a life was lost and we mourn. I'm hopeful that through this difficult situation, we can come together as a community with the spirit of understanding, respect for one another.

[00:21:39]Let's surround the family with care while they prepare to lay their loved one to rest.

[00:21:46]Difficult, right? Like the people are not seeing this the same. And and police posted this on their own social media and there are comments posted underneath it. the police allow the community to respond to their posts and it's a mixed bag. Some people see it exactly the same way as police. Uh but there's a a a a good number that don't. For instance, uh this one, you listed the employees injuries, hair pulled, face scratched.

[00:22:17]Why haven't you listed Miss Grayson's injuries? Why doesn't the video zoom in on when Miss Grayson is getting hurt?

[00:22:24]Why does it only zoom in and highlight when the employees are getting hurt? Ben Crump, please see what this police department is attempting to do.

[00:22:34]You know, Ben Crump, he steps in. Civil rights cases, etc., goes after uh uh a lot of times the government prosecutors um who aren't doing the right thing.

[00:22:45]Cases aren't being prosecuted. People he believes are being wrongfully prosecuted. He'll step in. It'll be interesting to see if he gets involved in this case. he may very well show up uh in in all this because there is a racial aspect to this. You saw it in in the video.

[00:23:00]Now, you know, in the world of justice, it should have no impact whatsoever on anyone's judgment call. The color of skin should have zero impact on whether a crime was or was not committed. Um you should just see the actions and reactions of the people involved to make that determination. Uh but it seems here there is some of that uh in the community. Here's another one. So per the video, the employee put her arm out touching Anita. In response, she shoved the employee back. The employee then charged towards Anita, screaming at her within inches of her face, which resulted in Anita defending herself against possible harm. So does that mean anyone can provoke a person and touch them until they feel threatened enough to throw a punch and after that it's all fair game, or am I missing something?

[00:23:50]Now, when you see comments like this, this is the way a jury could see the case, right? Ultimately, if criminal charges are brought, we're judged by a jury of our peers. These are people from the community, seeing the same exact thing differently, differently than police, differently than other members of the community. Uh, here's another one. This is definitely a tragic and unfortunate situation, but the customer was the aggressor. The team lead looks to have been trying to block the minor from the customer and appearing to place her hand on Miss Grayson's arm or in that direction, non-aggressively asking her to leave when the customer reacted, hitting the team lead. Praying for all involved.

[00:24:35]Again, we're all looking at the same video and seeing something different. Um there's also a GoFundMe that's been posted by the family. And again, no matter what you believe uh uh legally should happen here, um 75-year-old mom and loved one is no longer alive. And this was set up uh by uh Dana Grayson.

[00:24:57]Um our hearts are shattered as we mourn the tragic loss of our beloved mother, Anita Grayson, who was killed at Tim Hortons in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Anita was 75 years old and a faithful Jehovah's Witness who worshiped with the Sandpoint congregation in Fort Wayne.

[00:25:13]She was a God-fearing woman with a loving spirit who dedicated her life to her faith, her children, and her family.

[00:25:21]And our thoughts and prayers are with the family. Um, but at the end of the day, when it comes to criminally charging someone, if you do criminally charge someone in this case, it could end up as a homicide case. And we are talking about serious charges and serious potential time in prison.

[00:25:45]Well, that's it for this time. I'm Vinnie Palletan. Thank you so much for watching. We'll see you next time. And in the meantime, please don't forget to hug the kids.