Truck Drivers Seek Legal Action Against Sioux Falls Denny’s

September 13, 2023

UPDATE: Two truckers passing through Sioux Falls had an unfortunate experience at a local Denny's. Damon Whitfield and his driving partner Hector were asked to leave a Sioux Falls Denny's in August. The drivers spoke out and said this "interaction was racial profiling."

Since the original story, Damon Whitfield and Hector Madera have hired nationally renowned Civil Rights attorneys Harry Daniels and Erica Wilson. The drivers decided to hire attorneys after their video went viral on the internet. According to a press release, Damon and Hector are currently "examining all legal options before moving forward." 

Details about the original article can be found below. 

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September 5, 2023

It's pretty normal for truck drivers to make a quick stop to grab a bite to eat while on the road. However, two truck drivers had an unfortunate experience at a Sioux Falls restaurant and never received a meal.

In August, truck drivers Damon Whitfield and his driving partner Hector were asked to leave a Sioux Falls Denny's. Now one of them is speaking out saying this "interaction as racial profiling."

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Our news partners at Dakota News Now are reporting the cross-country drivers stopped at a gas station Denny's off Interstate 29. It started off as a normal sit-down meal. Damon tells Dakota News Now they were given menus and an orange juice he ordered. While waiting for Hector to come back to their table, Damon explains something different happened with their waitress. She never came back to take their order. She waited on tables that came in after Damon and Hector and just ignored them.

Hector eventually got their waitress' attention. But she became angry out of nowhere.

This is how Damon described the scene to Dakota News Now:

”He (Hector) says ‘Excuse me, we’re ready to place our order’. Then she immediately said ‘I don’t appreciate you yelling at me.’ Then I’m like ‘He just said Excuse me he didn’t yell’. Then she goes ‘I don’t need you people calling me over to this table’. He says ‘Yeah but I see you serving people that came in after us’ and then she goes, ‘You know what I’m not serving you people, you leave now or I’m calling the police,” Whitfield said. “Then she snatches the menus out of our hands. Snatches the Orange Juice off the table spilling some of the Orange Juice on me, then she walks over and she on the phone and I assume she’s talking to the police.”

Both men tried to defuse the situation, but the waitress told them she wanted them to leave and the cops were on their way.

Before police officers showed up, they attempted to order with a different server. Unfortunately, that server was forced to tell them to leave in order to "make the situation more calm." This server even admitted that she had no idea what Damon and Hector did wrong.

Damon and Hector explained the issue to the Sioux Falls Police Officers. They were in "disbelief." One officer even apologized to the truck drivers.

Damon says to Dakota News Now that he just wanted to share their story to make sure this "doesn’t happen again."

This Sioux Falls waitress is no longer employed with Denny's. You can read the restaurant's statement by clicking here.