Employees of a Shelby, North Carolina, eatery are being questioned after law enforcement officials said they were taunted and served tainted food while dining in uniform at the restaurant over the weekend.
The incident happened Sunday afternoon when two Cleveland County Sheriff’s deputies took their lunch break at a local Zaxby’s, an Atlanta-based chicken franchise, and first came to light in a Facebook post by the wife of one of the deputies.
“As they walked up to place their orders, the boys in the back cooking the food started yelling at them and calling them names,” the wife recalled in post that has since been deleted.
The two deputies ignored a barrage of insults from the kitchen while they waited for their food, the woman added.
“Then, as they sat down to eat their food, my husband realized [they] had put the hottest sauce possible on [his] wings — to the point where his food wasn’t even fit to eat,” she continued.
Cleveland County Capt. Joel Shores told the local CBS News affiliate that his deputies face taunting every day, but he was still surprised to learn of the alleged incident.
“Years ago, this profession was respected, it was honored,” Capt. Shores told the television station. “Now to get ridiculed, to be a target, to possibly get shot at, for little pay. What’s the motivation to be a police officer other than do it because your heart’s in it to help the community?
“We don’t want to shoot no one,” he said. “We don’t want to pepper-spray. We don’t want to Taser, that’s not what we wake up to do. We wake up to protect.”
The Zaxby’s owner, Neal Glezen, told the Shelby Star that he will review surveillance-camera footage and interview his employees about the alleged incident.
“This is something we take very seriously,” Mr. Glezen said. “We’re very big supporters of the community and law enforcement and all first responders. We have our own investigation going right now. We want to find out exactly what happened and what was said … what actually occurred.
“We’ve also spoken with the officers and will continue to do that, to get what they saw and what they heard,” he said. “We’ll take that as part of our investigation into what happened. We want to move as quickly as we can, but we also want to make sure we do a thorough investigation.”
Capt. Shores has since posted an update on his Facebook page after speaking with Zaxby’s officials.
“We are not going to judge an entire franchise based on a couple employees,” he wrote. “That is what is happening to us in Law Enforcement and we are above that! Zaxbys can not be judged on a few bad apples. Just pray for our nation.”
Shelby is located about 50 miles west of Charlotte and has a population of over 20,000, according to 2010 U.S. Census Bureau statistics.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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