A Starbucks barista in Oklahoma put the word 'pig' on a police officer's coffee cup on Thanksgiving Day.
"What irks me is the absolute and total disrespect for a police officer who, instead of being home with family and enjoying a meal and a football game, is patrolling his little town," Chief of Police Johnny O'Mara wrote in a Facebook post. O'Mara's facebook post is no longer accessible due to a change in privacy settings or because the post has been removed.
O'Mara says one of his on-duty officers in Kiefer, Oklahoma, was buying coffee to thank the department's dispatchers for working over the holiday. "It's Thanksgiving Day; our dispatchers are under appreciated as is," writes O'Mara.
When the police chief called the store to express his unhappiness with the situation, O'Mara says that he "was told they'd be happy to 'replace the coffee with a correct label.'" O'Mara says the proverb, "Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me’ came to mind."
"Just pour the coffee, please," O'Mara writes. "Are we at a point where a task as simple as pouring an exceptionally overpriced cup of coffee is so complicated that it cannot be accomplished without “expressing oneself?”
O'Mara concluded his post by thanking first responders for spending Thanksgiving Day away from their families and for risking their lives to protect the public's safety.
The police chief then offered some solid advice to help keep everyone a little safer. "If you're looking for coffee," writes O'Mara, "use a place where you pour your own and you’re certain of what’s in it.). Stay safe; go home."
In the comments section, Starbucks posted the following apology:
"This is totally unacceptable and offensive to all law enforcement. We are deeply sorry and have apologized directly to the officer who experienced this. We have launched an internal investigation into this matter and our leaders would like to connect with you directly to apologize to you and the entire department. We invite you to send us a private message so that we may connect you with our leadership." - Starbucks/Facebook
Starbucks also made the following statement to FOX23 on Friday:
"This is absolutely unacceptable and we are deeply sorry to the law enforcement officer who experienced this. We have also apologized directly to him and we are working to connect with the police chief as well as to express our remorse. The barista has been suspended pending the outcome of our investigation into this matter. This language is offensive to all law enforcement and is not representative of the deep appreciation we have for police officers who work tirelessly to keep our communities safe."
Not only are these cop haters ungrateful, but they are also unoriginal. A person working at Taco Bell wrote 'pig' on a police officer's order back in 2015. In that case, Taco Bell fired the employee and reassured the public that Taco Bell was committed to supporting law enforcement and members of the military.
Our police officers deserve better.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member