A Wendy’s manager admitted to tying a neurodivergent coworker to a grill, then claimed it was for a TikTok trend nobody can find

Michiko Burton was arrested and charged Thursday after admitting to Murfreesboro, Tennessee, police that she tied a neurodivergent coworker to kitchen equipment at the Wendy’s where she worked as a manager, according to the New York Post. Burton, 19 years old at the time of her arrest, had been fired from the role. Police said she told them “the incident was part of a TikTok trend.”

Officers didn’t arrest her right away, since the coworker wasn’t physically injured, until a colleague’s video of him bound to a grill with garbage bags wrapped around his leg surfaced and prompted a further investigation. The case was referred to Adult Protective Services and investigated by the department’s Special Victims Unit before warrants were issued for Burton’s arrest, Murfreesboro police said. She’s been charged with simple assault and false imprisonment, both misdemeanors.

Wendy’s called her actions “unacceptable,” with an area manager saying, “Michi is no longer a manager for us.” Nicholus Murphy, the coworker who filmed the video and shared it, said he hasn’t found any evidence the trend Burton described actually exists.

Her own coworker questioned the excuse

“If there was a TikTok trend, then where’s the TikTok?” Murphy said. “They deserve justice. He deserves a person here having his back.” Murphy said he felt obligated to speak up: “Doing the right thing is always the right thing to do.”

Roughly 15 to 20 percent of the global population is neurodivergent, an umbrella term covering conditions like ADHD, autism, dyslexia and dyspraxia, according to the Neurodiversity Directory, which cites a 2020 review in the British Medical Bulletin. Under Tennessee law, both charges Burton faces are Class A misdemeanors, the most serious misdemeanor category in the state, generally carrying up to 11 months and 29 days in jail.

Simple assault under Tenn. Code § 39-13-101 covers intentionally or knowingly causing another person to reasonably fear imminent bodily harm, a Class A misdemeanor that in Tennessee can carry a fine up to $2,500, the standard maximum for that classification. False imprisonment under Tenn. Code § 39-13-302 applies to knowingly confining someone in a way that substantially interferes with their liberty.

Tennessee’s Adult Protection Act defines a “vulnerable adult” as someone who, because of an intellectual disability or physical condition, can’t fully manage their own affairs or protect themselves from abuse without assistance, which is likely why this case was routed through Adult Protective Services rather than handled as an ordinary workplace incident alone.

Separately, state law makes it a Class A misdemeanor for anyone who fails to report suspected abuse of a vulnerable adult, under Tenn. Code § 71-6-110. In theory, that could mean legal exposure for any coworker who witnessed the incident and stayed silent, though nothing in the reporting indicates anyone else is facing scrutiny.