Video Of Crying Cop Goes Viral—And Exposes Deeply Divided Feelings About Police

TOPLINE

In a video that quickly went viral Wednesday, a police officer begins to cry after ordering a breakfast sandwich from McDonald’s, as she fears, due to a growing backlash against cops, that her food has been tampered with; she then requests citizens “have a heart” and echos sentiments recently expressed that by other officers, wishing more appreciation be shown toward cops.

KEY FACTS

Key Background:

Per Newsweek, the owners of the McDonald’s apologized for the service issues in a statement and hoped to make it up to the officer in the future. “Our priority is for all customers to feel welcome and enjoy a great customer experience in our family-owned restaurants, including local law enforcement officers who protect and serve our community,” Gary and Jill Stanberry, the local McDonald’s owners said in a statement provided to Newsweek. “We have been in contact with this officer to apologize for this unsatisfactory experience and let her know that we would love to correct the inaccurate order when she has time.” The local Richmond Hill Police Department posted a Facebook message Wednesday saying the woman was an employee of another local agency.

Chief Critic:

Some commenters, mockingly referring to “Stacey” as “Officer Karen,” questioned whether she was stable enough to be an armed enforcer of the law, or whether it “should preclude her from carrying a weapon and a badge that confers full legal immunity.”

Tangent:

Back in January, a Kansas police officer claimed McDonald’s employees wrote “F*****g pig” on his cup. However, the department’s police chief investigated and “found that McDonald’s and its employees did not have anything whatsoever to do with this incident, this was completely and solely fabricated by a Herington police officer.” The officer resigned. In July 2019, a sheriff’s deputy in Indianapolis accused McDonald’s employees of taking a bite out of a McChicken sandwich he had purchased. The Marion County Sheriff’s Office launched an investigation into the incident, but it turned out that the officer took a bite out of the sandwich at the start of his shift and had later “forgotten that he had previously bitten the sandwich.” The sheriff’s office acknowledged the accuser, “wrongly concluded that a McDonald’s employee had tampered with his food because he is a law enforcement officer.”

Critical Quotes:

“I can’t imagine being the woman working for minimum wage at McDonalds who is now seeing a video go viral of an unstable and armed police officer—for whom she brought out a cup of coffee—accuse her of suspicion of tampering with a McMuffin. I would be terrified.” – Twitter user Charlotte Clymer.

“I wager most people joyfully dunking on McDonald’s cop, would not do the same if it was the cashier having the breakdown from being exhausted and demoralized. Easier to assume she’s “crazy” than to consider there are human beings caught in both sides of this clash,” twitter user Rob Messel. 

Further Reading:

Police Officer Breaks Down in Tears After Her McDonald’s Order Was Delayed (Newsweek) 

Video shows ‘Officer Karen’ crying over delays with her McDonald’s order (Daily News)

NY Police Unions Allege Officers’ Poisoned’ From Shake Shack Food—Then Change Tune (Forbes)