Belleville cops have been banned from Denny's in Illinois because of an incident that happened on Jan. 1., according to media reports. The Chief of Police issued the ban after the Denny's manager told a few officers that they could not eat there while being armed.
Belleville Police Captain Don Sax was outraged and he had this to say about it:
“It’s absolutely a slap in the face I totally agree it’s completely disrespectful. How can anyone think to tell a police officer you can’t be in here with your gun its absurd to me.”
When a customer noticed one of the out of uniform detectives with a gun, the concerned customer then told the manager, said a spokesperson for the restaurant. The manager approached the detective and told her to either put the gun in the car or leave, because guns are not allowed inside Denny's.
Even when the detectives told the manager that they were police, they were still given the same response by the manager.
Captain Sax said:
“I’ve never known anybody that didn’t want a police officer present in an establishment in a business it’s added security it’s absolutely what they want.”
After initially being told to leave by the first manager, a second manager arrived and told them they could stay with their weapons. However, the upset detectives decided to leave.
Captain Sax added, “They had been harassed enough they have been embarrassed more than enough.”
After hearing of the news, some customers said they plan on staying away from the Denny's. Eric Veri said:
“I won’t go to Denny’s until they resolve it with the Belleville Police Dept. they are working out here hard for us definitely support them.”
On Thursday, the issue was resolved when a top Denny's official issued an apology statement and offered free meals to the officers, the Chief then decided to lift the ban. He also gave the following statement:
"I am a fan of 'Social Media'; I use it and rely upon it often. This same technology sometimes puts an issue in the public domain that should be resolved in private face to face meetings. Denny's on South Illinois is a Belleville business. They pay sales tax and provide employment for many Belleville residents. I have patronized Denny's in the past and will continue to do so in the future. I harbor no grudges! This was an unfortunate incident by an individual employee; it has been made right."
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