How would you feel if you were refused service at a restaurant solely because of how you looked? Apparently Sgt. Jennifer Martin of the Pembroke Pines Police Department knows the feeling. An employee at an Arby’s declined to serve the uniformed officer.
Although the store manager provided her the food, he laughed about it and said his worker could decline to serve her. Sgt. Martin asked for a refund. Arby’s corporate issued an apology. Dade County PBA called for a chain boycott and the employees’ termination.
Pembroke Pines Chief Dan Giustino said, “I am offended and appalled that an individual within our community would treat a police officer in such a manner. It is unacceptable.”
While the incident is disappointing, it is not surprising considering the chilly climate toward law enforcement officers in the Mainstream Media. For a refreshing counterpoint, check out Tim’s post on Gun Nuts Media titled, The Police Aren’t the Bad Guys.
Imagine what would happen if we based police service delivery on personal preferences…but, then, people expect us to be professionals. Hey, if I were treated like this, I’d certainly wield my discretionary spending elsewhere.
Randall
Update: Arby’s fired the manager and suspended the employee for two days.
photo: Linkedin
I will never step foot in an Arby’s again unless and until they take significant action to prevent this sort of thing from happening. Just as I wouldn’t support any business that discriminated against people because they’re white, brown, yellow or black I wont support a business that discriminates against people in blue.
CNN reports that Arby’s offered free food to police officers in two counties (I assume it was Broward and Miami-Dade) and they saw only one take advantage of it. It’s not clear to me from the news reports whether Arby’s has made amends appropriately with Sgt. Martin.