A manager at a Wendy’s restaurant in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, allegedly tied a neurodivergent employee to kitchen equipment with trash bag liners, prompting his family to call for police to reopen a criminal investigation, according to a report by WSMV 4 Nashville investigative reporter Jeremy Finley.
The incident was captured on video inside the Wendy’s on South Church Street by co-worker Nicholus Murphy, who told Finley he began recording after becoming disturbed by what he saw happening in the kitchen.
“I actually felt sad for him,” Murphy said. “I actually wanted to cry.”
WSMV 4 did not identify the employee, but his family confirmed that he is neurodivergent. Video from inside the restaurant showed material resembling trash bag liners wrapped around his legs and securing him to kitchen equipment.
Co-Worker Says Manager Wanted Employee to ‘Stay Put’
According to a Murfreesboro Police Department report cited by Finley, manager Michiko Burton was responsible for tying the employee.
Murphy said Burton explained that she did not want to “babysit” the worker and wanted him to remain in one place while she handled other work in the back of the restaurant.
“She said that she didn’t wanna babysit him,” Murphy told WSMV 4, adding that Burton said she needed the employee to “stay put.”
Murphy estimated that his co-worker was tied to the equipment for roughly seven minutes.
Even without an injury being reported, the image of an employee physically restrained during a work shift raises an obvious concern about dignity and workplace judgment. A restaurant can be stressful and fast-moving, but tying a worker to equipment is far outside anything that would normally be considered a reasonable way to supervise an employee.
Murphy said he was troubled enough by the incident that he sent the video to supervisors and to WSMV 4 Investigates.
Manager Reportedly Called It a TikTok Joke
Police were also contacted, and Burton gave officers a different explanation for what happened.
According to the police report, Burton told investigators the incident was connected to a TikTok trend, was intended as a joke and had happened with the employee’s consent.
Murphy disputed that account.
“If there was a TikTok trend, then where’s the TikTok?” he said.
The employee’s family also told Finley they did not believe the incident was part of a social media trend.
That disagreement is one of the central issues in the case because the same event can look very different depending on whether it was actually voluntary or whether the employee was placed in a situation he did not fully understand or feel comfortable challenging.
Video alone may not answer every question about consent, but the family said the employee’s facial expression made them believe he appeared hurt and confused.
“We all obviously see his face, how, like hurting to the point he was and confused,” a family member told Finley, describing the situation as “a hard pill to swallow.”
Police Filed No Charges
Murfreesboro police interviewed the employee after the incident, according to Finley’s report.
Police said he told officers that he was not upset and had not been injured. Based on that interview, no criminal charges were filed.
The employee’s family now wants investigators to take another look at what happened.
Their request appears to center partly on whether the employee’s initial statements should be viewed in the broader context of his neurodivergence and the relationship between a worker and a manager.
That does not automatically mean the original police conclusion was wrong, but it does explain why the family is uncomfortable treating a simple statement that he was “not upset” as the end of the matter. When there is an imbalance of authority in a workplace, and especially when a vulnerable employee is involved, questions about consent can be more complicated than they first appear.
Wendy’s Manager Was Fired
Finley also obtained a recording of a meeting involving restaurant staff and an area manager.
During that meeting, the area manager described what happened as unacceptable, regardless of whether anyone considered it a joke.
“Whether it be a cruel joke or intended, I don’t care,” the manager said. “Whatever went on … is unacceptable.”
The area manager then told employees that Burton was no longer working as a manager at the restaurant.
“It’s unacceptable for anybody,” the manager said. “That is why Machi is not here today. Machi is no longer a manager for us.”
Finley later went to the Wendy’s location and spoke directly with the restaurant’s general manager, who confirmed that a manager had been terminated because of the incident.
When Finley asked whether he could confirm a manager was fired, the general manager replied, “Absolutely.”
That response provides one of the clearest facts in the aftermath of the incident: although police did not file charges, the restaurant treated the conduct seriously enough to end the manager’s employment.
Franchisee Says Conduct Violated Its Standards
Finley reported that the Wendy’s general manager declined to discuss additional details and referred further questions to the company.
Wendy’s of Bowling Green, the franchisee that owns and operates the restaurant, later provided a statement saying the behavior did not match the company’s standards.
“The safety and well-being of our employees is our top priority,” the franchisee said. “This behavior is inconsistent with our values and the standards we expect in our restaurants.”
The company said the situation was investigated after management learned about it and that “appropriate action was taken.”
“We remain committed to maintaining a respectful workplace where all employees are treated with dignity and respect,” the statement continued.
WSMV 4 Investigates also attempted to contact Burton by phone and through social media, but Finley said she had not responded.
Family Wants Investigation Reopened
The employee’s family is now pressing Murfreesboro police to reopen the case, despite the earlier decision not to pursue charges.
Their concern appears to be less about whether the employee suffered a physical injury and more about how he was treated, whether he genuinely agreed to being restrained and whether police should examine the incident again with those questions in mind.
Murphy’s decision to record the scene became a crucial part of the story because it gave the family, restaurant management and the public a visual record of something that otherwise might have remained an internal workplace dispute.
It is also notable that the restaurant’s own management condemned the conduct even though the police investigation did not lead to charges. Criminal law and workplace standards are not the same thing, and behavior can be serious enough to justify termination even when investigators determine that a criminal case cannot be filed.
For the employee’s family, however, the firing has not fully resolved what happened.
They told Finley they want investigators to reconsider the case, while Wendy’s says the matter was promptly investigated and action was taken. For now, that leaves the police decision unchanged, but the family continues to argue that the circumstances surrounding the employee’s treatment deserve another review.
Raised in a small Arizona town, Kevin grew up surrounded by rugged desert landscapes and a family of hunters. His background in competitive shooting and firearms training has made him an authority on self-defense and gun safety. A certified firearms instructor, Kevin teaches others how to properly handle and maintain their weapons, whether for hunting, home defense, or survival situations. His writing focuses on responsible gun ownership, marksmanship, and the role of firearms in personal preparedness.
