Exclusive: Texas deputy and wife beaten by Waffle House employees in parking space dispute, suit says

An off-duty police officer and his wife were brutally assaulted outside a Waffle House in suburban Houston after arguing with one of the restaurant’s employees over a parking spot, according to a lawsuit reviewed by The Independent.

In an amended petition filed August 26 in Harris County, Texas, Joshua Kesler, a deputy with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, says the employee, a woman, called in four men who showed up on the scene, knocked him to the ground, then punched and kicked him in the head “multiple” times, shattering his eye socket.

Kesler’s wife, Randel, was beaten unconscious during the late-night melee and hospitalized with, among other things, a broken collarbone, the petition states.

The alleged assailants, according to the petition, were there at the Waffle House employee’s behest. It is unclear whether they were also Waffle House employees or associates of hers; they are listed in court filings as John Does, pending identification through discovery.

While the initial employee didn’t participate in the assault, she is still responsible for directing it, and therefore equally liable, the petition argues. Waffle House, as her employer, is vicariously liable for her actions, it says.

The Independent is withholding the employee’s name, as she is listed as a defendant in the civil case but has not been charged with a crime, according to a review of local court records.

Waffle House has become notorious for brawls between customers, employees, and various combinations of both.

“I’ve probably cleaned blood off of every surface of a Waffle House,” Austin-based Waffle House server Halie Booth previously told The Independent.

Booth enjoyed a moment of online fame when a video of her holding her own in a knock-down, drag-out brawl against a group of enraged diners that had refused to move from a closed section of the restaurant, went viral.

A Waffle House spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on the latest lawsuit and incident. A message sent to the Waffle House employee’s attorney also went unanswered.

A little after midnight on September 28, 2024, Kesler and his wife arrived at Waffle House #1513 in Humble, about 20 miles northeast of downtown Houston, on his motorcycle, according to the couple’s amended petition, which followed an initial filing in late May.

After they pulled into the parking lot, Kesler guided the bike into a space adjacent to a Jeep the petition says was occupying two spaces. The Waffle House employee at the center of their lawsuit “immediately confronted the Keslers… in a hostile and threatening manner, yelling that she had intentionally parked her Jeep that way and did not want anyone parking next to her,” the complaint goes on.

It claims the employee “became increasingly agitated and directed threatening statements” toward the couple. She then approached Kesler’s wife in “an intimidating manner,” prompting Kesler to stand between the two of them in an apparent attempt to shield his spouse.

“Recognizing the danger, the Keslers attempted to leave the premises,” the petition states.

While the two prepared to leave, the petition says “four males arrived in a vehicle and immediately approached and physically separated the couple.”

“One of the assailants struck Mr. Kesler in the face with a closed fist, knocking him to the ground, and the attack continued with multiple strikes and kicks while he lay on the ground,” the petition continues. “… Mr. Kesler suffered a fractured left orbital bone and abrasions to his knee and elbow, for which he sought treatment at Next Level Urgent Care.”

Kesler’s wife “was also struck in the head during the incident, causing her to briefly lose consciousness,” according to the petition.

“Mrs. Kesler was transported by EMS to the HCA Houston Healthcare Kingwood Emergency Department, arriving at 1:43 a.m. on September 28, 2024, where she was diagnosed with a fractured clavicle, a 0.5-centimeter facial laceration above her right eyebrow requiring adhesive repair, a head contusion, and contusions to her right shoulder and knee,” it says.

The two claim Waffle House was negligent in hiring the employee, who, the petition claims, “had exhibited aggressive behavior or other characteristics that should have alerted Waffle House to her unsuitability for a customer-interaction position.”

Kesler and his wife have suffered physical injuries, physical pain, mental anguish, emotional distress, and economic damages, their petition states.

In an answer to the allegations, the Waffle House employee claims any force used against the Keslers was justified as self-defense, as she believed she was about to be attacked. She also blamed Kesler for “provoking, instigating, and/or escalating the confrontation,” and denied any responsibility over the Keslers’ alleged attackers.

Waffle House, for its part, denied any responsibility for the Keslers’ injuries and asked to be dropped from the case.

The Keslers are now seeking punitive damages “in an amount sufficient to punish Defendants and deter similar conduct in the future,” along with lost wages, loss of earning capacity, physical impairment, disfigurement, and medical expenses, plus attorneys’ fees and court costs.

Kesler’s attorney did not respond to a request for comment.