Restaurant asks armed officer to leave, but Texas police say manager was just confused

A restaurant in Texas has apologized after a police officer carrying his gun was asked to leave on Saturday.

A San Antonio police officer was asked by a manager to leave Fogo de Chao Brazilian Steakhouse because his police-issued gun was visible, the San Antonio Police Officer’s Association said in a statement.

The officer was not in full uniform, instead carrying only his badge and firearm into the restaurant, which has a “no-gun” company policy, the San Antonio Express-News reported.

Under Texas Law, off-duty officers are allowed to carry firearms in restaurants regardless of company policy, but the officer left the restaurant so as not to cause commotion, police said.

A witness posted her account of the incident to Facebook, stating that the manager told the officer he’d still have been asked to leave if he were in full uniform.

“The sergeant accepted the manager’s request and left the establishment as his family stayed behind to sing happy birthday to the family member,” she wrote.

Despite the officer being asked to leave, police say they don’t believe the establishment is anti-police, just uninformed.

“I am afraid that it boils down to education,” Mike Helle, president of the San Antonio Police Officer’s Association said, according to KSAT. “I would like to think they are not anti-police or that that individual who asked him to leave is not anti-police, but I think he probably wasn’t educated on what the law allows or doesn’t allow.”

Fogo de Chao apologized to the San Antonio Police Department in a Facebook post.

“We made a mistake by asking him to leave and sincerely apologize to the officer and to the San Antonio Police Department for this unfortunate lapse in judgment,” the company wrote. “We are working hard to address and correct the matter, and that includes us apologizing directly to the officer and training our team members on the laws in relation to firearms on business premises. We support, respect and appreciate everything our law enforcement does to keep us safe, every day.”

This story was originally published July 29, 2019 at 3:07 PM with the headline "Restaurant asks armed officer to leave, but Texas police say manager was just confused."