Texas deputy and wife brutally assaulted by Waffle House worker and her crew in parking lot

An off-duty Texas sheriff’s deputy and his wife claimed an argument over a Waffle House parking space ended with four men attacking them outside the restaurant, leaving both with serious injuries. Now, a lawsuit is attempting to determine how a dispute over two painted lines allegedly escalated into an emergency-room visit.

Joshua Kesler, a Harris County Sheriff’s Office deputy, and his wife, Randel, made the allegations in an amended petition filed August 26 in Harris County. The Independent reports that the confrontation itself occurred shortly after midnight on September 28, 2024, outside a Waffle House in Humble, Texas.

According to the couple’s lawsuit, the dispute began after they parked Kesler’s motorcycle beside a Jeep that was occupying two spaces. They allege a Waffle House employee confronted them, saying she had deliberately parked across both spaces and didn’t want anyone beside her. Apparently, even at Waffle House, some disputes are too heated for the griddle. 

A Parking Dispute Allegedly Escalated Within Minutes

The Keslers allege the employee became increasingly hostile before approaching Randel, prompting Joshua to position himself between the two women. The couple says they then attempted to leave.

Before they could do so, however, four men allegedly arrived in another vehicle and physically separated them. The lawsuit claims one punched Joshua in the face, knocking him down before he was repeatedly struck and kicked.

Joshua was later treated for a fractured orbital bone and other injuries, according to the filing. Randel allegedly lost consciousness after being struck in the head and was taken by ambulance to a hospital, where the petition says doctors diagnosed a fractured collarbone along with several other injuries.

The identities of the four men remain unclear. Court filings list them as John Does pending identification, and The Independent reports it has not been established whether they were Waffle House employees or associates of the employee involved in the original confrontation.

The Keslers allege the employee summoned the men and is therefore liable despite not personally participating in the physical attack. They are also seeking to hold Waffle House responsible, arguing that the company was negligent in hiring her. 

The Other Side Tells a Different Story

However, the allegations are contested. In her response, the employee argued that any force used against the Keslers was justified as self-defense because she believed she was about to be attacked. 

She also accused Joshua of “provoking, instigating, and/or escalating the confrontation” and denied responsibility for the four men who allegedly attacked the couple. The Independent withheld her name because she is a defendant in the civil lawsuit but, according to its review of local court records, has not been criminally charged. On top of that, Waffle House has reportedly denied responsibility for the couple’s injuries and asked to be dismissed from the case. This isn’t the first time Waffle House has made headlines in a less than flattering light, including the viral story of a woman they seemingly refused to serve due to her attire. 

For now, the lawsuit leaves two sharply different accounts of how an argument over a parking space became something much more serious. Whatever a court ultimately decides, this is one Waffle House dispute nobody managed to hash out. 

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