Published Friday, Feb. 14, 2020 | 6:50 p.m.
Updated Friday, Feb. 14, 2020 | 10:42 p.m.
Metro Police says management at a south valley restaurant — where two uniformed officers were allegedly refused service this week — suspended the employee and renewed its commitment to welcome law enforcement to the establishment.
In a statement Friday night, police called the employee’s alleged behavior “unacceptable,” but noted they believe he didn’t represent the business’s point of view.
Thursday’s incident, in which a pair of on-duty officers stopped by for lunch at the restaurant-bar located near Cactus Road and Decatur Boulevard, was outlined in a Facebook post shared by a page for wives of Metro officers.
According to the post, the officers, who were working the graveyard shift, walked into the 24-hour establishment to eat but were met by a bartender who was nodding his head and then motioned his finger in a way they interpreted it to mean “stop.”
When they asked if they could sit and order food, the bartender allegedly told them, “We don’t serve you guys here any more (sic),” the post said.
“These officers thought he was joking, which the bartender emphasized that he was serious.” The officers walked out.
Phone calls to the restaurant Friday evening went unanswered.
The post had been shared on Facebook more than 650 times less than nine hours after it was posted, accruing more than 100 comments. A user wrote he wanted to know more information before possibly boycotting. Another noted it’s the business’s right to refuse service — “(too) bad the officers can’t refuse service too." Another called for civility: “This is not license to do unkind things in return.”
By Friday night, Metro's traffic bureau and the Nevada Highway Patrol tweeted a jovial photo of their DUI strike team posing in the restaurant, noting that the manager had welcomed them with "open arms" and that "the actions of one do not reflect the beliefs and support of others."
The incident highlights incidences of uniformed officers being denied service across the U.S., which is then heightened on social media.
Last year, Starbucks twice apologized to police in California and Arizona when officers alleged to have been ignored or disrespected. On Thanksgiving Day, an officer picking up a coffee order in Oklahoma was surprised when the five cups were labeled “Pig.” The coffee chain later fired the manager and apologized.
