The owners of a pizza shop in San Francisco have finally made their thoughts on police officers known as they announced the termination of a store manager who denied service to cops on the basis that she believed they “were not welcome in the restaurant.”
The San Francisco Police Officer’s Association did not take this offense and turn the other cheek, instead taking to Twitter to voice their displeasure and allow those who support the police to know what pizza store to avoid, saying:
“Today, a @pizzasquaredsf employee told several of our officers that they were not welcome in the restaurant. The SFPOA notified the owners of the restaurant of the shameful and hateful actions of one of their employees. We appreciate the owners’ swift apology praise for the hard work our officers do, and the owners’ commitment to meeting with the affected officers.”
Today, a @pizzasquaredsf employee told several of our officers that they were not welcome in the restaurant. The SFPOA notified the owners of the restaurant of the shameful and hateful actions of one of their employees. We appreciate the owners' swift apology…(Tweet 1 of 2) pic.twitter.com/U5Kkk84meS
— San Francisco POA (@SanFranciscoPOA) January 30, 2023
In a later Tweet from the restaurant, it became clear that the owners do not agree with this employee’s stance, and they were let go later in the day:
“This employee was a trainee & on his third day. When our shift manager told us about the incident after it happened, we expressly told him we didn’t share his views & that he was out of line. He was fired at the end of the day. When we notified by SFPOA, we apologized.”
This employee was a trainee & on his third day. When our shift manager told us about the incident after it happened, we expressly told him we didn’t share his views & that he was out of line. He was fired at the end of the day. When we notified by SFPOA, we apologized.
— Pizza Squared (@pizzasquaredsf) January 30, 2023
FOX San Francisco received a statement from SFPOA President Tracy McCray, explaining the stance of the organization on this matter:
“Our officers were surprised and dismayed by this bigotry. We were pleased to receive an immediate response from the owners, including a sincere apology for their employee’s actions and a commitment to meet with the affected officers and make this unfortunate situation right.”
Turning away police as an employee at a business is a bizarre move. In the instance that something goes horribly wrong, those exact people who you told “were not welcome” in the establishment will be the rescuers that you rely on in the event of a robbery or other crime.
FOX San Francisco also received this statement from the store owner:
“Only comment we have is that none of this is political to us. Any employee of ours who mistreats our customers would get the same outcome. We just want to make good pizza & serve anyone who comes in with a smile.”
No grandstanding, no defending the employee, just an immediate denouncing of the actions that the employee foolishly took to defend her restaurant from its protectors.
Comments on these posts have been heavily divided, with some people glad that the employee was fired and others outright demanding that the person be rehired and praised for “protecting its employees and customers from being around armed cops.”
What a world we live in, where you must be protected from being around the people who protects. The divide in America is so accentuated now, where some of the population feels unsafe around the police and many others rely on them as a pillar of the community.
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