As reported by The Tennessean, as many as 15 people were involved in a brewhaha that first started between a landscaping employee and the contractor who fired him.
The employee was reportedly fired a couple days before the incident. He apparently came back to the business and approached the owner, spitting in his face and making various threats. The report also suggests that some of the folks involved in the brawl worked for another landscaping company but knew the individual who’d just been fired.
It appears as though the owner of the landscaping company who fired the employee, along with his employees who took his side in the brawl, are now being criminally pursued.
Workplace violence is obviously a serious issue. Fortunately in this case, only a few punches and some saliva appear to have been involved. When confronted by a disgruntled or recently terminated employee, do your best to stay cool and not provoke the individual or retaliate. When threatened, spit upon or whatever, immediately call or have someone call law enforcement. Obviously you’ll need to physically defend yourself if necessary, but try to avoid physical confrontation as much as possible and allow police to arrive.
