Photo: Getty Images North America
A Black police officer says he was "humiliated" after being the only member of his group asked to pay for breakfast at a Chick-fil-A, while his three white colleagues were given complimentary meals.
Tracey Reid, an officer from Clover, South Carolina, said he and his colleagues stopped at a Chick-fil-A in Augusta, Georgia during a recent work trip. While it’s common for restaurants to offer free meals to law enforcement, Reid, who was in uniform along with his peers, was the only one not offered the courtesy.
“We came in together, same uniform, stood in line, there was never a time we were not together,” Sgt. J. Gordon, one of Reid’s white colleagues, told WSOC-TV.
Detective Thomas Barnette, another white colleague, said he was “infuriated” when Reid had to pay.
“He looked at his plate, looked sad and humiliated — and that made me really mad,” Barnette said.
Reid said the incident left him feeling "humiliated and embarrassed."
“I was kind of humiliated and embarrassed. It seemed like it was a racial issue to me,” he said.
Following the incident, Reid contacted Chick-fil-A’s corporate office, demanding more employee training and stronger civil rights compliance. The store’s owner responded with an apology and two vouchers for free meals. However, Reid believes the response was inadequate.
“[The letter] said it was perceived that it was a racial incident, which I didn’t like — because it wasn’t perceived. It actually happened,” Reid said.
“We all perceived it. It’s not perception, it’s what happened. It was a racial issue. I felt like he was singled out," Barnette added.
The restaurant’s owner later claimed the incident was a mistake made by a team leader who doesn’t normally work the register.
“You can’t train a racist,” one social media user wrote in response to the incident. “Racism is an issue of the mind and heart.”
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