Things in San Francisco went about how you’d expect in San Francisco when several police officers entered a pizza parlor and, instead of being welcomed as customers, were kicked out by an employee in training, who apparently hates cops. San Fran being San Fran, that was no surprise.
But, in a shocking twist for the liberal city, the pizza shop’s owners decided to do the right thing. Instead of defending their cop-hating employee, they fired the employee and swiftly apologized to the police once they found out what happened, as the San Francisco police officer’s association tweeted out, saying:
“Today, a @pizzasquaredsf employee told several of our officers that they were not welcome in the restaurant. The SFPOA notified the owners of the restaurant of the shameful and hateful actions of one of their employees. We appreciate the owners’ swift apology praise for the hard work our officers do, and the owners’ commitment to meeting with the affected officers.”
Today, a @pizzasquaredsf employee told several of our officers that they were not welcome in the restaurant. The SFPOA notified the owners of the restaurant of the shameful and hateful actions of one of their employees. We appreciate the owners' swift apology…(Tweet 1 of 2) pic.twitter.com/U5Kkk84meS
— San Francisco POA (@SanFranciscoPOA) January 30, 2023
In a later Tweet from the restaurant, it became clear that the owners do not agree with this employee’s stance, and they were let go later in the day:
“This employee was a trainee & on his third day. When our shift manager told us about the incident after it happened, we expressly told him we didn’t share his views & that he was out of line. He was fired at the end of the day. When we notified by SFPOA, we apologized.”
This employee was a trainee & on his third day. When our shift manager told us about the incident after it happened, we expressly told him we didn’t share his views & that he was out of line. He was fired at the end of the day. When we notified by SFPOA, we apologized.
— Pizza Squared (@pizzasquaredsf) January 30, 2023
FOX San Francisco received a statement from Tracy McCray, President of the San Francisco Police Officer’s Association. Explaining the stance of the organization, he said:
“Our officers were surprised and dismayed by this bigotry. We were pleased to receive an immediate response from the owners, including a sincere apology for their employee’s actions and a commitment to meet with the affected officers and make this unfortunate situation right.”
FOX San Francisco also received a statement from the owner, who said “Only comment we have is that none of this is political to us. Any employee of ours who mistreats our customers would get the same outcome. We just want to make good pizza & serve anyone who comes in with a smile.”
People online were fiercly divided about the incident, as can be seen in the comments on the posts. Some thought that the employee shouldn’t have been fired for kicking the cops out of the restaurant, while others sided with the police and store owners in supporting the pizza shop’s firing of the employee, either because of that employee’s stance on police or because it’s just bad business to kick out those who would patronize your restaurant.
All in all, the incident shows that the culture war fight over policing that nearly turned from a cold war into a hot war following the death of George Floyd remains a simmering issue for many people on both sides.
By: Will Tanner. Follow me on Twitter @Will_Tanner_1
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