What happened at Royal Buffet in Manchester on April 2 might have entertained people across America, but for Denise Avery, it was about far more than crab legs.
"It was completely not how people should behave," she said.
At a buffet island, she had complained to the restaurant about a girl playing in the water where the crab legs were.
"What we were upset about - myself and the other two women - was that she did have her fingers in the actual crab leg water, and she was kind of swirling it around," she said.
When they asked the restaurant for clean water, the girl's family took it as criticism. One thing led to another in the dining area and, feeling threatened, Avery called police.
Before officers arrived, Clifford Knight confronted Avery and her son Vinnie stepped in, she said.
"So my son put up his hands and Mr. Knight punched him in the mouth and broke his two front teeth," she said.
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That's when she got out her pepper spray, ending the night for everybody dining at Royal Buffet, and forcing the restaurant to throw out all its food. But it didn't end the assault, she said.
"She punched me twice in the back of the head and then as she's holding me by my hair, he punched me straight in the nose, breaking my nose. My nose is broken," she said.
Avery also has bruises on her arms and legs and said she suffered a concussion.
Clifford Knight was charged with misdemeanor assault and disorderly conduct and Lataya Knight was charged with threatening and disorderly conduct. Both are to appear in court Thursday.
