The officers were wearing civilian clothes, got picked on by the restaurant's manager

Jan 4, 2013 10:58 GMT  ·  By
On- and off-duty police officers now banned to eat at a Denny's restaurant in Bellville
   On- and off-duty police officers now banned to eat at a Denny's restaurant in Bellville

This past Tuesday, a run-off-the-mill misunderstanding caused the Belleville Police Department (or at least its armed and uniform-wearing members) to no longer be allowed to have breakfast, lunch or dinner at a local Denny's restaurant.

Apparently, what the conflict all comes down to is hurt feelings and the officers' need to be respected on account of their spending hours on end keeping perpetrators and criminals well under control.

Thus, it so happened that five on-duty detectives decided to pay Denny's a visit and grab some on-duty quick bites.

The detectives were carrying guns and badges, yet they were dressed in civilian clothes. Because of this, the restaurant's manager failed to make head and tail of what their job was, and made the mistake of asking them to leave.

“Please take your gun to your car or leave. No guns allowed,” he supposedly said. Still, the manager apologized immediately after realizing his mistake.

As one spokesperson for Denny's later argued, “Upon further discussion, we became aware the individual was a plain-clothed police officer. Denny's policy permits law enforcement officials to carry their firearms in the restaurant, and we regret any misunderstanding.”

However, the local police chief would hear none of these apologies, and decided that the only way to teach Denny's a lesson was to ban all on-duty and off-duty police officers from ever taking another step inside this restaurant, sources report.

“This was an insult, a slap in the face, to those detectives and to all of the men and women who proudly wear the uniform or badge and serve in law enforcement,” Police Chief William Clay said.

“This individual was the manager of Denny's. He therefore speaks for Denny's, in my mind. This policy effectively prohibits on-duty sworn police officers from dining in a Denny's Restaurant, but allows 'registered sex offenders,' 'felons' and or 'pedophiles' to enjoy a dining experience in Denny's,” William Clay went on to argue.

Hopefully, this Denny's restaurant in Belleville and local officers will soon agree to make peace with each other.