Olive Garden apologizes to police officer after making him leave the restaurant
When Kansas City Police Officer Michael Holsworth went to lunch at the Olive Garden in Independence, Missouri, on Sunday to celebrate his birthday with his family, an employee asked Holsworth to leave the restaurant because he was carrying a firearm. In a Facebook post, Holsworth wrote:
%shareLinks-quote="I actually thought it was a joke at first, so I asked her, 'Are you serious?' She replied back with 'Yes.' So I told her, 'Well, I can leave I guess.' She then replied back, 'Yes, please leave.'" type="quote" author="Officer Michael Holsworth" authordesc="" isquoteoftheday=%
Kansas City police officer Michael Holsworth has issued a statement regarding the alleged Olive Garden incident: pic.twitter.com/DPM3P7HSVZ
— 41 Action News (@41actionnews) October 12, 2015
Later on Sunday, Kansas City Police Chief Darryl Forté responded to the situation in a tweet. He wrote that although he spoke to an Olive Garden manager who assured him that all officers are welcome, facts were still being gathered about the situation. He wrote:
.@kcpolice I spoke with1of the managers @olivegarden. She was very concerned and shared POs are welcome there. Facts are being gathered.
— Darryl Forte' (@sheriffforte) October 11, 2015
Kansas City Missouri FOP Lodge 99 president Brad Lemon responded by saying that a rally may occur in front of the restaurant due to the employee's disrespectful actions:
@olivegarden Your manager took the position that it didn't happen. A rally will be held in front of the store.
— Brad Lemon (@FOPLemon) October 11, 2015
That evening, Olive Garden president Dave George spoke to Holsworth on the phone to discuss the incident. The restaurant issued an apology to the officer. Kansas City FOP Lodge wrote on their Facebook page:
"This afternoon, a spokesperson for the national chain called and offered a very heartfelt apology. I do not believe this issue occurred because of a company policy. This occurred because of a poor decision of one employee."
A public relations representative from the Olive Garden also responded to Holsworth's post, which has been shared over 7,000 times. The representative said:
"Members of law enforcement are always welcome in our restaurants. We're proud to say we have great relationships with our local police departments. We're looking into this now."
According to Rich Jeffers, a spokesman for the Olive Garden, many concerned and outraged people have been calling the restaurant and speaking with the manager to express their disappointment over the incident.
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