Tensions between civilians and police have been high in the wake of the deadly Dallas shooting, so when a man refused to sit near them while they ate dinner at a restaurant, some police officers decided to pay for his meal.
According to TheBlaze.com, four officers were sitting down to dinner at an Eat N’ Park in Homestead, Pennsylvania when a man entered the restaurant and refused to be seated near them.
Eat N’ Park server Jesse Meyers recalled, “A table goes to sit down and the guy looks over at one of the police officers and was like, ‘Nah I don’t want to sit here.’”
Officer Chuck Thomas said he got the man’s attention and said, “It’s okay sir. You won’t have to worry about it, we won’t hurt you.”
The man, however, was not convinced. “He looked at me hard again and said he’s not sitting here and walked away,” added Thomas.
The man was then seated away from the officers.
As he ate his meal, Thomas kept thinking about the situation. Then he had an idea.
"It just dawned on me, I should do this real quick just to show this guy look, I don’t know if you had bad experience with the police in the past — you may have you may have not — but I just want you to know I never had an experience with you and I’m not here to do anything to you. And neither will my partners,” Thomas said.
The officers paid the man’s tab and wrote, “Sir, your check was paid for by the police officers that you didn’t want to sit next to. Thank you for your support,” on the bill. The officers also left a large tip for the server.
Thomas said he hopes the officers’ actions showed the man that they are there to serve the community and that they want to “better the relationship between the community and the police.”
Photo courtesy: Thinkstockphotos.com
Publication date: July 13, 2016
