UPDATE: A police investigation has found that the officer who claimed he received the coffee cup with the words “f***ing pig” had made up the story. NBC News reports:
A Kansas police officer resigned Monday after fabricating a story that employees at a local McDonald’s wrote the words “F—ing Pig” on his coffee cup. Herington Police Chief Brian Hornaday said on Saturday that one of his officers went to McDonald’s in Junction City, Kansas, before work and was given the cup in question, NBC affiliate KSNT reports. After further investigation, the department discovered the unidentified Herington officer made the story up. “This was completely and solely fabricated by a Herington police officer no longer employed with the agency,” Hornaday told reporters Monday.
Original story:
On Saturday, a Kansas police officer who is also a U.S. Army veteran stopped for a cup of coffee at a McDonald’s and became the latest member of law enforcement to have a nasty message written on his coffee cup: “f***ing pig.”
Herington Police Chief Brian Hornaday said the officer was offered a "free lunch" and that "A Big Mac and large fries doesn't make up for it." https://t.co/Va3McTg5sV #kwch12
— KWCH Eyewitness News (@KWCH12) December 29, 2019
As KWCH reported, the Herington police officer stopped at a McDonald’s drive-thru in Junction City at roughly 6 a.m. on Saturday on his way to work. Herington Police Chief Brian Hornaday posted a picture of the coffee cup on Facebook along with this statement:
One of my Officers decided to grab a coffee at the McDonalds located at 1127 South Washington in Junction City this morning on his way to work. This is what he paid for. Although I understand this is likely the act of one person and not a representation of the company, when it was brought to their attention the company offered him a “free lunch.” No, thank you. A Big Mac and large fries doesn’t make up for it. The U.S. Veteran who continues to serve deserves much more. This is not only bad for McDonalds, but is also a black eye for Junction City. I apologize for the foul language, but covering it up would take away the full effect.
KWCH also quoted Hornaday testifying to the officer’s generosity, asserting:
He has spent the last two months serving the citizens of Herington, visiting patients at Herington Municipal Hospital during Christmas who couldn’t be home for the holidays, participating in a Christmas give away at Herington Elementary School and many other positive things geared towards providing a positive future for the City of Herington.
On Sunday, the owner/operator of the McDonald’s in question, Dana Cook, told The Daily Mail, “McDonald’s is a strong supporter of our police, military and first responders. In fact, I have several family members who are law enforcement officers. We take any incident like this seriously and are currently investigating the allegation made.”
The Geary County Sheriff’s Office wrote on Facebook:
Just to weigh in on the current situation in our community. We, humanity as a whole, have become quick to judge, and even quicker to react. We don’t know the whole story and are saddened by seeing this incident in our community.
However, we at the Geary County Sheriff’s Office, believe this was an isolated incident and have faith in management at McDonald’s to get to the bottom of the situation. We do not believe the actions of one individual represent the feeling of our community as a whole, a community we are proud to serve. As a show of faith in our community the Sheriff and some of his command staff will be visiting to have a cup of Coffee Monday morning.
As The Daily Wire reported in late November, on Thanksgiving Day an Oklahoma police officer who was working got a rude surprise when he visited Starbucks to get coffee as a thank-you for the dispatchers who worked with him: the cup he was given, instead of having his name on it, was labeled “Pig.” Johnny O’Mara, Chief of Police in Kiefer, Oklahoma, recounted the incident on Facebook along with a picture, writing:
My officer goes to Starbucks to get the dispatchers coffee as a thank you for all they do (especially when they’re working a holiday.) This is what he gets for being nice. What irks me is the absolute and total disrespect for a police officer who, instead of being home with family and enjoying a meal and a football game, is patrolling his little town.
O’Mara added, “This cup of coffee for a ‘pig’ is just another little flag. It’s another tiny symptom and a nearly indiscernible shout from a contemptuous, roaring and riotous segment of a misanthropic society that vilifies those who stand for what’s right and glorifies the very people who would usher in the destruction of the social fabric. It’s another tiny pinprick into the heart of men and women who are asking themselves more often: ‘Why am I doing this?’”
On December 12, according to the Riverside County, California, sheriff’s department, two of its deputies were temporarily refused service at a Starbucks location on the evening of December 12. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department tweeted the next day, “#StarbucksIncident We are aware of the ‘cop with no coffee’ incident that occurred in Riverside on 12/12/19, involving our @RSO deputies. We are in communication w@Starbucks Corporate addressing the issue of deputies being denied service #copwithnocoffee #Starbucks.”