By Police1 Staff
DAVENPORT, Fla. — A wife of an officer said two uniformed Polk County Sheriff’s deputies were turned away by restaurant security Saturday night.
Crystal Nobre, a member of Central Florida LEO Wives, wrote a post on Facebook saying she, along with other LEOs and their wives, reserved a table at Davenport’s Ale House for the Mayweather vs. McGregor boxing fight. The LEOs were not in uniform and off duty and the group was quickly seated and served.
While they were being served, Nobre invited a few on-duty Polk County deputies for food on their lunch break.
When the uniformed deputies arrived, they were turned away by security, who allegedly told the deputies they were making customers nervous.
“I was stunned and mad, and I was hurt for my guys to have to hear that,” Nobre told ABC Action News.
Restaurant owner Danny Chopra told the news station that the incident was a miscommunication between staff. He said he was told by his assistant manager that the deputies were there to serve a warrant. Chopra said that it wasn’t the right time to do that.
“We are extremely sorry it was a misunderstanding, any law enforcement are always welcome at our restaurant,” he said.
Chopra said if he would have known the deputies were just there to eat, he would have let them in.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office wrote on Facebook that they had met with Chopra, along with the restaurant’s general manager, and had a “very positive meeting.”
“Both Danny and [restaurant GM] Ray expressed their heartfelt apologies for what happened,” the agency wrote. “They said there were a series of mistakes and misunderstandings that led to a poor decision being made, and they sincerely regret what happened. They have asked to meet with the deputies involved so they can apologize to them in person—we are passing on that invitation.”
https://www.facebook.com/polkcountysheriff/posts/10154964685331818
The sheriff’s office said they have not had any issues with the restaurant before and deputies frequently dine there. The department wrote they “believe people can make a mistake, apologize for it and move forward.”
Nobre told ABC Action News that despite the apology and invitation to the officers, her family probably won’t eat there in the near future.
“We as wives want our guys to be respected,” she said. “The men and women in blue don’t get enough respect as it is and two days prior to that they laid two of their brothers to rest one city over, and for an establishment to turn them away for dinner I’m not going to have that. It’s unacceptable in my mind as a police wife.”