Chipotle has apologized to the New York Police Department following an incident where a single employee raised his arms in a one-man protest against a group of uniformed NYPD customers heading into the downtown Brooklyn restaurant two weeks ago.
The nine officers reportedly took immediate offense to the "hands up, don't shoot" gesture and walked out of the national burrito chain, USA Today reported.
"We work very hard to ensure that every customer in our restaurants feels welcome and is treated with respect," co-CEOs Steve Ells and Monty Moran said in a statement. "Clearly, the actions of this crew member undermined that effort."
Following the incident on Dec.16, pro-NYPD groups became enraged both with news of the employee's seemingly tasteless act and with the subsequent untrue reports that the Brooklyn store refused to serve the men in blue, according to UK MailOnline.
Contrary to internet rumors gone viral, however, neither is the Chipotle company anti-police nor were the officers refused service at the Montague Street eatery. Instead, "they chose to leave after encountering this gesture," an NYPD-friendly Facebook page reported.
"We have conducted a review of the incident including interviews with the crew and a review of video footage from security cameras," read Chipotle's CEO's statement, obtained by the New York Daily News. "Our investigation has shown that this appears to have been a spontaneous, unplanned action taken by an individual crew member and was not a coordinated effort by the staff of the restaurant."
Ironically, this is the same Chipotle store that ran into trouble two years ago after it was reported that workers were giving uniformed officers in the area a 50 percent "prohibited and unofficial" discount.
"The crowd at lunch and dinner is peppered with officers: some at tables, more in line and some carrying to-go bags. They are drawn by burritos and tacos, the proximity to Brooklyn's courthouses and an unadvertised special: a 50 percent discount given to officers in uniform," the New York Times reported in 2012.
Meanwhile, "appropriate actions" have been carried out against the unidentified employee, the Chipotle chiefs said, declining to provide additional details.
