Florida Arby’s Apologizes To Pembroke Pines Police After Employee Refuses To Serve Officer

A Florida Arby’s restaurant has apologized to the Pembroke Pines Police Department after one of their employees refused to serve their officer.

According to the Sun Sentinel, the alleged incident took place on Tuesday night at the Arby’s at 11755 Pines Blvd. in the Pembroke Lakes Mall. According to a report, Sgt. Jennifer Martin was wearing her uniform, and was driving her police vehicle, when she attempted to order her dinner through the drive-thru. The employee was identified as 19-year-old Kenneth Davenport, and reportedly sounded “short” when taking the officer’s order, and then refused to serve her because she was a police officer.

Martin pulled up to the window where the store manager, Angel Mirabal, allegedly told her that the employee “doesn’t want to serve you because you are a police officer.” She had to order Davenport to process her credit card payment. Angel then allegedly told the officer that Davenport “has the right to refuse to serve” you. Martin was then issued a refund after she expressed concern for the safety of her food.

On Wednesday, Arby’s CEO Paul Brown and Senior Vice President of Operations Scott Boatwright called Police Chief Dan Giustino and apologized for their employees’ actions.

“Both gentlemen assured Chief Giustino that the employee’s behavior was unacceptable and not representative of the company’s values. Chief Giustino was appreciative and accepted their apology and now considers this matter closed.”

“We take this isolated matter very seriously as we respect and support police officers in our local communities,” Arby’s spokesman Jason Rollins from their headquarters in Atlanta said in a statement. “We will be following up with our team members to be sure that our policy of inclusion is understood and adhered to.“

The Broward and Dade County Police Benevolence Association does not believe that a simple apology is an adequate response to the way the officer was treated. They are now calling on supporters to boycott the fast-food restaurant until the employees are fired.

“It is beyond comprehension and deeply troubling that a business would deny service to a law enforcement officer just for being a law enforcement officer. In this case, after the clerk refused to serve the officer, the manager came up to the window laughing and said that the clerk had the right to refuse service to the officer,” said Florida and Dade County PBA president John Rivera, according to CBS Miami.

“This is yet another example of the hostile treatment of our brave men and women simply because they wear a badge. It is unacceptable and warrants much more than an apology. We support our brothers and sisters who wear the badge in Broward County and across the United States. Until corrective action is taken and the employees involved in this incident are terminated, we are calling for a national boycott of Arby’s.”

[Photo by James R. Martin / Shutterstock]