Police officers are typically highly regarded by civilians for their duty and massive daily contribution to society.
However, the staff at an Olive Garden in Kansas City seems to think otherwise when they asked a police officer to leave the restaurant during his birthday lunch on Sunday.
As per KMBC, officer Michael Holsworth was awaiting the arrival of his family at the Olive Garden location, all while dressed in his uniform and armed with his gun, because he was on duty.
As he was sitting inside the restaurant, a staff member reportedly asked him to leave, saying, "Sir, we don't allow guns in here."
Michael Holsworth even wrote a Facebook post about the incident, thinking that the staff member was only joking:
Please share this....So I was going to eat lunch with my family today (10-11-2015), we had decided to go to the Olive...
Posted by Michael Holsworth on Sunday, October 11, 2015
Officer Holsworth tells the news publication that he decided to write a Facebook post about the whole ordeal because he "did not want other officers to be subjected to the same embarrassing situation."
He also added, "It is my hope that Olive Garden handles this situation appropriately so no other officer has the same experience I had today."
The president of the Olive Garden restaurant chain, Dave George, then personally called and apologized to Michael Holsworth on Sunday evening about what happened said company spokesman Rich Jeffers, as reported by the Kansas City Star:
"'It's unacceptable, that's what it is,' Jeffers said. 'Olive Garden welcomes members of law enforcement all the time in the restaurants. We love serving them. They serve our community. The least we can do is provide them a great meal.'"
Kansas City Police Chief Daryl Forte said that he had already spoken with one of the restaurant's location managers about the occurrence: "She was very concerned and shares (police officers) are welcome there," Forte said in a tweet. "Facts are being gathered."
.@kcpolice I spoke with1of the managers @olivegarden. She was very concerned and shared POs are welcome there. Facts are being gathered.
— chiefforte (@ChiefForte) October 11, 2015
It is still unknown if the Olive Garden employee had been fired for the incident.
