A Brazilian steakhouse has apologized to law enforcement officials in San Antonio, Texas, after a manager asked an armed officer to leave the restaurant.
The incident took place on Saturday at the downtown San Antonio location of Fogo de Chão, during which the manager reportedly requested the police officer leave because of his gun.
"A law enforcement officer who was dining at our San Antonio location recently was asked to leave the premises by our staff because he was carrying a firearm," the restaurant stated in a message posted to Facebook.
"We made a mistake by asking him to leave and sincerely apologize to the officer and to the San Antonio Police Department for this unfortunate lapse in judgment. We are working hard to address and correct the matter, and that includes us apologizing directly to the officer and training our team members on the laws in relation to firearms on business premises. We support, respect and appreciate everything our law enforcement does to keep us safe, every day."
Lots of commenters on Facebook were appreciative of Fogo de Chão's apology, with many thanking the restaurant for owning up to its mistake and promising to do better.
"Great job Fogo de Chao," one wrote. "Glad to hear you accepted responsibility and are doing everything you can to make sure it doesn't happen again. For those here saying you should have done more, I suggest 'thoughts and prayers' for the officer and police dept. That covers it all!"
We all make mistakes," another said. "Great job taking responsibility and doing what's right. I will continue to frequent your restaurant!"
There were some, however, who did not appear to be as forgiving.
"Apologies are great, but you owe this officer and his family a free meal!" someone insisted.
"Not good enough," another added. "Your words are meaningless to our [law enforcement officers] who fight to keep you and your families safe only to be upended when your employees['] moral compass and feelings towards Law Enforcement are askew."
Det. Mike Helle, the president of the San Antonio Police Officers’ Association, later told KSAT that he hopes the incident encourages businesses to learn the laws concerning officers and their weapons.
“They kind of made a boo-boo on this one, and the officer could have held his ground but he didn’t because he didn’t want to cause a scene,” said Helle. “We just hope that Fogo de Chao learns from this and if other businesses learn from it, as we then we all just kind of grew as a city.”
Helle added that he thinks the manager at Fogo de Chão was not “anti-police,” but rather not “educated on what the law allows or doesn’t allow.”
Texas law states that peace officers or special investigators are allowed to carry their weapons in any establishment “serving the public, regardless of whether the peace officer or special investigator is engaged in the actual discharge of the officer’s or investigator’s duties while carrying the weapon.”
Fogo de Chão operates well over a dozen restaurants in the United States, along with several more internationally. A representative for the steakhouse was not immediately available to comment further for Fox News.
https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/steakhouse-san-antonio-apologizes-officer-gun-leave-restaurant
The incident took place on Saturday at the downtown San Antonio location of Fogo de Chão, during which the manager reportedly requested the police officer leave because of his gun.
"A law enforcement officer who was dining at our San Antonio location recently was asked to leave the premises by our staff because he was carrying a firearm," the restaurant stated in a message posted to Facebook.
"We made a mistake by asking him to leave and sincerely apologize to the officer and to the San Antonio Police Department for this unfortunate lapse in judgment. We are working hard to address and correct the matter, and that includes us apologizing directly to the officer and training our team members on the laws in relation to firearms on business premises. We support, respect and appreciate everything our law enforcement does to keep us safe, every day."
Lots of commenters on Facebook were appreciative of Fogo de Chão's apology, with many thanking the restaurant for owning up to its mistake and promising to do better.
"Great job Fogo de Chao," one wrote. "Glad to hear you accepted responsibility and are doing everything you can to make sure it doesn't happen again. For those here saying you should have done more, I suggest 'thoughts and prayers' for the officer and police dept. That covers it all!"
We all make mistakes," another said. "Great job taking responsibility and doing what's right. I will continue to frequent your restaurant!"
There were some, however, who did not appear to be as forgiving.
"Apologies are great, but you owe this officer and his family a free meal!" someone insisted.
"Not good enough," another added. "Your words are meaningless to our [law enforcement officers] who fight to keep you and your families safe only to be upended when your employees['] moral compass and feelings towards Law Enforcement are askew."
Det. Mike Helle, the president of the San Antonio Police Officers’ Association, later told KSAT that he hopes the incident encourages businesses to learn the laws concerning officers and their weapons.
“They kind of made a boo-boo on this one, and the officer could have held his ground but he didn’t because he didn’t want to cause a scene,” said Helle. “We just hope that Fogo de Chao learns from this and if other businesses learn from it, as we then we all just kind of grew as a city.”
Helle added that he thinks the manager at Fogo de Chão was not “anti-police,” but rather not “educated on what the law allows or doesn’t allow.”
Texas law states that peace officers or special investigators are allowed to carry their weapons in any establishment “serving the public, regardless of whether the peace officer or special investigator is engaged in the actual discharge of the officer’s or investigator’s duties while carrying the weapon.”
Fogo de Chão operates well over a dozen restaurants in the United States, along with several more internationally. A representative for the steakhouse was not immediately available to comment further for Fox News.
https://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/steakhouse-san-antonio-apologizes-officer-gun-leave-restaurant
