Taco Bell Manager Accused of Locking Homeless Man In Dumpster

Did a Taco Bell manager in California tell his workers to lock a homeless person in the dumpster?  That’s what one teenager named Jacob Cook says he witnessed.

The story has sparked outrage on social media, and the manager is denying the allegations.

It was first reported by the Redding, California based outlet Record Searchlight.  Cook said he was buying food when he heard manager Darrin Hailey tell employees to lock the man in a dumpster.  The man was banging from inside after he was locked in the dumpster.

“I was honestly shocked, because…I’ve never seen someone lock another gentleman in a trash can, homeless or not,” said Cook.  

Hailey strenuously denied the story.  “It is extremely false,” he said. “The gentleman was sleeping in the dumpster. We simply closed the dumpster gates…per city ordinance. The dumpster itself was unlocked at all times. Nothing was locked…the lid has to remain closed or the city fines us a bunch of money.”

Hailey says that while a bar locks the dumpster from the outside, you can get out from the inside.  

Taco Bell also denied the report.

The fast-food manager was blasted by a group that helps the homeless called the Good News Rescue Mission.

“We are very disturbed by the reported incident. It is unimaginable that anyone should be treated in this manner,” Cesar Partida, the mission’s director, told the Record Searchlight.