Dunkin’ Donuts Issues Statement Following Two Incidents With Police Officers

Dunkin’ Donuts Corporate office has issued a statement following two separate incidents with their employees and police officers.

According to WSFB, a West Hartford police officer was denied service at a Dunkin’ Donuts in West Hartford on Saturday morning. The officer entered the coffee shop, located at 1234 Farmington Ave., at approximately 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, October 3. While standing in the back of the line, waiting to check out at the register, an employee looked at him and shouted, “he didn’t get the message, we don’t serve cops here.”

The police officer left the shop without commenting back to the employee. He entered his police cruiser, and was then approached by the store manager and the employee, who proceeded to apologize for his rude remarks. The officer told the employee she should apologize to the rest of the customers who were in the shop, as many of them seemed to also take offense to what she had said.

Dunkin’ Donuts employee tells officer: ‘We don’t serve cops here’ https://t.co/jdKP359t9C

— FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) October 5, 2015

At the time, Dunkin’ Donuts said, “we are aware of the situation at the Dunkin’ Donuts at 1234 Farmington Avenue in West Hartford. The crew member exhibited poor judgment and apologized immediately to the police officer. The franchise owner, a long-time supporter of local police, has also reached out to apologize on behalf of the restaurant. Dunkin’ Donuts and our franchisees share a commitment to the well-being and fair treatment of all guests.”

In a separate incident, a Providence Police officer entered a Dunkin’ Donuts shop, located on Atwells Avenue at the corner of Bradford Street, on Friday evening to purchase a cup of coffee. When he received his coffee, the words “#BlackLivesMattter” were written on the side of the cup. William “Billy” O’Donnell later posted a picture, and a description of the incident that happened to his co-worker, on his personal Facebook page.

“So my coworker just went to get a coffee Dunkin’ Donuts on Atwells Ave in Providence. The worker was immediately rude, and didn’t appear to want to serve him in uniform,” he wrote. “Upon leaving he noticed what she wrote on his coffee cup…#blacklivesmatter.? Would you drink it? My suggestion…absolutely not, go to Starbucks. When is this silliness going to end. But if the store gets robbed she’ll be calling us immediately to help AND we will because that’s what we do!!!!”

Mike Iamondi, Providence Police Patrolman and Providence FOP Vice President told GoLocal that the officers in the area are concerned about the incident, and whether or not something was placed in the officer’s coffee.

“We have to look at the possibility if ‘Black Lives Matter’ is on the cup, is there anything else going into the cup? That is a possibility, given what’s going on around the country. If a guy goes in for a cup of coffee at a place we know, where we’re patrons at, and they’ve always been great with us, do we have to worry?”

“This is unacceptable — all lives matter. We took great offense,” Iamondi added. “Has it gotten to the point everywhere we go, do we have to wonder if someone is going to try and slip us something and without us knowing? Where does it end?”

Following both of the incidents, Dunkin’ Donuts Corporate office decided to issue a statement, saying the “separate and isolated incidents” did not reflect the company’s “commitment to provide outstanding guest service.”

“Dunkin’ Donuts and our franchisees share a commitment to the well-being and fair treatment of all our guests. The franchisees in both cases have apologized on behalf of their employees to the police and very much regret the situations.”

[Photo by ricochet64 / Shutterstock.com]