In the “punchline in search of a joke” department, news has emerged out of Connecticut that an employee at a Dunkin’ Donuts franchise denied service to a police officer, allegedly telling the officer that “we don’t serve cops here.” The employee then reiterated that message when the officer got back in line.
Dunkin’ Donuts has quickly come out in support of law enforcement, saying in a statement that “We are aware, Dunkin’ Donuts and our franchisees share a commitment to the well-being and fair treatment of all of guests [sic]. The crew member exhibited poor judgement & the franchisee has apologized to the police officer on behalf of Dunkin’ Donuts,” according to the Hartford Courant.
The Connecticut State Police tweeted out support for Dunkin’ Donuts, saying that the actions of one don’t define the company.
Despite the actions of 1, we know our friends @DunkinDonuts support us. @NBCConnecticut@WTNH@FoxCT@WFSBnewspic.twitter.com/JMECvwR61d
— CT State Police (@CT_STATE_POLICE) October 4, 2015
Though the employee didn’t specifically say so, this action seems to be a symptom of an increasingly fraught relationship between law enforcement and the community, which began following the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo. last year and has persisted since. There have been other examples of service employees refusing to serve cops — at an Arby’s earlier this year, for instance.