On Tuesday, a police officer was denied service at a Florida Arby’s. Peter Burke reports:
According to an offense report filled out by the officer, identified as Sgt. Jennifer Martin, the officer ordered her food in the drive-through of the restaurant and drove to the window to pay.Martin claims that the clerk, Kenneth Davenport, took her credit card. She said the restaurant’s manager, Angel Mirabal, then approached the window and said, “He doesn’t want to serve you because you are a police officer.”The officer said she told Mirabal that she was uncomfortable and “wasn’t certain I wanted to dine at the restaurant.”According to the report, Mirabal assured Martin that everything was OK, handed her the food and laughed while telling her that Davenport was allowed to refuse her service.Martin said that she went inside the restaurant, and Mirabal provided her with a refund and his contact information. She said Davenport refused to give her his contact information.
Following this incident at Arby’s, the outrage was such that police wives protested outside the Arby’s where the incident occurred, and the head of the Broward County Police Benevolent Association, Jeff Marano, called for a nationwide boycott of Arby’s. Arby’s responded by issuing an apology and promising to investigate the matter to determine if disciplinary action was warranted.
Kenny Davenport, the crew member who allegedly refused service to the officer, “told CBS Miami he sees little point in explaining himself“: “There’s no point in talking,” he said. “I’m 19. She’s an officer and I’m colored.”
Watch:
The Pembroke Pines Police Department issued the following statement:
The Pembroke Pines Police Department considered the matter closed after speaking with and receiving an apology from the CEO of Arby’s:
Arby’s issued an apology in regards to the incident.”We take this isolated matter very seriously as we respect and support police officers in our local communities. As soon as the issue was brought to our attention, our CEO spoke with the Police Chief who expressed his gratitude for our quick action and indicated the case is closed. We will be following up with our team members to be sure that our policy of inclusion is understood and adhered to. Further, we will be following through with disciplinary action up to and including termination of the employees involved, as appropriate.”
Arby’s investigation into the incident resulted in the manager being fired and the crew member being placed on temporary paid leave. CBS reports:
CBS Miami reports that Davenport met with company executives Friday morning where he was put on leave with two days pay.”This was a complex and difficult decision, but as a company that highly values trust and fairness, we ultimately found that the crew member was not involved other than to attempt to remedy the situation,” said the company’s CEO Paul Brown in a statement. “We have reviewed our process and decision with the Pembroke Pines Police Department who made it clear they consider the case closed.”The manager, on the other hand, was fired.”As a result of our thorough investigation, we have terminated the manager and placed the crew member on temporary paid leave,” the statement read.
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY
