In a joint press conference with McDonald’s Monday night, the Herington police chief said a coffee cup incident that received national attention was a hoax.
Chief Brian Hornaday said McDonald’s didn’t have anything to do with writing obscenities on an officer’s coffee cup, and that it was “fabricated by a police officer no longer employed with the agency.”
MCDONALD’S EMPLOYEE WRITES F— PIG ON COFFEE CUP TO POLICE OFFICER
Herington Police Chief Brian Hornaday confirmed the unnamed officer made up the story about being given a coffee cup with “F—–g pig” written on it. The incident caused a stir on social media over the weekend and resulted in criticism of the fast-food giant
“Now, this is absolutely a black eye on law enforcement,” Hornaday said.
On Monday, the owner of the Junction City MdDonald’s denied his employees wrote the message. Dana Cook said video surveillance proved his workers committed no wrongdoing.
“My McDonald’s have the utmost respect for all members of law enforcement and the military and were troubled by the accusation made,” he told KSNT-TV. “We thoroughly reviewed our security video from every angle, which clearly shows the words were not written by one of our employees.”
Hornaday initially shared a now-deleted photo of the vulgar message on Facebook, which led to backlash against McDonald’s for the reported insult.