US: San Francisco restaurant denies service to armed police; apologises after backlash

Following a social media backlash for denying service to three police officers at a restaurant in San Francisco, a famous eatery had to apologise for the incident, as per The Guardian. According to the owners of Hilda and Jesse Restaurant, three on-duty police officers entered the eatery on Friday with arms. Referring to the restaurant as "a renowned public place" of the town, the owner allegedly asked the police to leave the place immediately, as people and staff were "uncomfortable" with the weaponry. However, when the matter went viral on several social media platforms including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, the restaurant owner publicly apologised for their actions.

Read the apology post here:

In the apology post, the owner said that he asked the officers to leave the place politely as the eatery is a "secure location and the presence of the officers’ arms made us feel nervous." "We made a mistake and apologize for the unfortunate incident on Friday when we asked members of the San Francisco police department to leave our restaurant. These are stressful times and we handled this badly," read the apology post uploaded by Rachel Sillcocks and Kristina Liedags, the co-owners of Hilda and Jesse Restaurant, on Monday. Subsequently, San Francisco police chief Bill Scott posted the apology letter sent by the restaurant owner to the police department.

Restaurant owner sends an apology letter to police department

"Our restaurant is a safe space - particularly for queer and bipoc individuals. Furthermore, the fact that they were in uniform with multiple weapons on them made our staff uncomfortable, and potentially other guests, so they were asked to leave. We would happily welcome them off duty, out of uniform and without weapons. "We're sorry that the decision upset you. We understand your perspective and we hope you'll consider ours," added the apology post. Replying to the post, Scott said that the San Francisco police department stands for safety with respect, even when it means respecting wishes. "I believe the vast majority of San Franciscans welcome their police officers, who deserve to know that they are appreciated for the difficult job we ask them to do — in their uniforms — to keep our neighbourhoods and businesses safe," he tweeted. 

Image: Pixabay