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Arby's Apologizes to Pembroke Pines Cop Who Was Allegedly Denied Service at its Restaurant

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Reports claim a uniformed officer was denied service on Tuesday night at a Pembroke Pines Arby's

Arby's/Facebook

According to Pembroke Pines Police, a uniformed officer was allegedly denied service at the Arby's on 11755 Pines Blvd on Tuesday evening "due to being a police officer."

In a statement released by the Pembroke Pines Police department this morning its Chief Dan Gustino said, "I am offended and appalled that an individual within our community would treat a police officer in such a manner. It is unacceptable, and I will be contacting the Arby's CEO to demand an apology."

And according to the report Gustino did just that and has since spoken to Arby's CEO, Paul Brown, and Senior Vice President of Operations, Scott Boatwright, who, "assured Chief Giustino that the employee’s behavior was unacceptable and not representative of the company’s values."

Calls to the Arby's in question have not been returned. A statement just released from its corporate team said:

"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 indicates 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."

UPDATE:

We now know more details surrounding the incident. According to the Sun Sentinel, Pembroke Pines Sgt. Jennifer Martin ordered food through the drive-through lane of Arby's on Tuesday evening. When she went to pay for her food at the window, the restaurant's manager, Angel Mirabel, approached the window and said that the clerk, Kenneth Davenport, didn't want to serve her, "because you are a police officer."

Mirabal then ordered Davenport to process her payment and assured Martin that everything was fine, with Martin telling the Sun Sentinel that, "Mirabal even laughed and said he is allowed to refuse to serve me."

Martin tells the Sentinel that she, "was uncertain of the condition of my food, and felt for my safety." She proceeded to go inside and ask for a refund, which Mirabal granted and gave her his contact information. But in the report Martin says that, "Davenport refused to have contact with me, ignored me and refused to provide his contact information to me."

There weren't any arrests, according to the Sentinel, and the incident was recorded in a "offense report." [Sun Sentinel]


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