Arby’s Fires Manager After Employee Allegedly Refused to Serve Police Officer

Arby’s fired a manager and suspended a clerk after an incident when the employees allegedly refused at first to serve a police officer in Pembroke Pines, Fl.

The national fast-food chain announced the disciplinary action on Thursday, following the Tuesday night exchange and a statement from the Pembroke Pines Police Department on Wednesday, Fox News reports.

Sargent Jennifer Martin, 34, tried to order food at the store’s location when clerk Kenneth Davenport, 19, wouldn’t accept her credit card, and manager Angel Mirabal, 22, explained Davenport didn’t want to serve her because she was a police officer. Martin later received her order, but returned it for a refund because she wasn’t comfortable eating it.

“We take this isolated matter very seriously as we respect and support police officers in our local communities,” said Arby’s spokesman Jason Rollins in a statement.

Davenport told the Sun-Sentinel that the comment was meant as a joke. “We don’t hate cops,” the clerk told the paper. “We don’t hate anybody.”

Arby’s announced that any police officer who shows up to an Arby’s in Broward or Miami-Dade counties in uniform on Friday would receive a free combo meal.

[FOX News]