Deputy Constable Shane Cates posted a lengthy message on Facebook about an incident he and co-workers were involved in at a local BBQ restaurant. The decision to write the message came after the officer confronted the owner about the situation the following day. The message has since taken off and has caught the attention of media outlets all over the internet.
The officer posted the following message on Facebook:
I want to share with the community the treatment a few police officers received a few days ago.I went into Goings BBQ with a few other officers and sat down to eat. While eating I noticed some of the other customers looking around at us and then realized there was music playing behind the counter where the cooks are. The music got louder is how we noticed it. The guys in the back were playing a rap song that was saying FUC$ THE POLICE over and over. I was completely shocked and thought surely no one was doing that as a dig on cops. Well I was shocked again. I walked behind the counter where the cooks are a there were to males one white younger guy washing dishes and a Hispanic guy cooking. The guy washing dishes was singing the song and pointing out towards the eating area. He turned and noticed me standing there and started laughing. I asked for the owner who was not there and told them I was going to tell him what happened. I left with the music still playing and customers looking around. Today I went to goings to see what the owner would say. The owner is the really nice short older man in there. I told him what had taken place in front of the other worker who was there that day and he laughed. He said well you can eat today because the boy is off today. I said do you really think that is funny and that I would want to eat here with that going on. He looked at me and laughed. I had my wife and another deputy with me. I said we can put the tray’s back I’m not eating here now or ever again. He said ok. I said you can bet I will be posting this on Facebook or maybe the news media. this is just wrong in so many ways. Maybe I am out of line but I can’t find anything in me that thinks this is ok.
Since then, the owner apparently had a change of heart and has now reportedly fired the two offending employees. The company made a Facebook post claiming that it was all a big misunderstanding:
We would like to extend a sincere apology to our men and women in blue and to everyone in the Crosby community that was recently affected by this incident. This began as a joke by a young and reckless teenager that was unaware of the magnitude of his actions. Goings BBQ as a company did not, nor will ever condone such language nor such blatant disrespect directed towards an officer or any other individual. The actions of a young, thoughtless employee do not represent the company’s stance on our local law enforcement and as such he has been released. Furthermore, the situation escalated due to a miscommunication between the manager and the affected officer. The manager is deeply distraught by the incident and would like to express his most sincere apologies. The miscommunication stemmed from the manager hearing, but not fully understanding, a reference to the boy. Based off of their previously established and lighthearted relationship, the manager thought the officer was simply playing a joke on him. We as a company have and will continue to fully support the men and women who protect and serve our communities.