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Washington State Restaurant Apologizes For Saying Cops Aren’t Welcome, Gives Free Meals On Monday [Video]

By Patricia Ramirez
Published on: 12:06 PST, Jul 17, 2016

Lucky Teriyaki, a Washington State restaurant located about 70 miles north of Seattle, became part of the U.S.’s media circus last week. The reason? According to multiple local and national reports, the Washington restaurant banned local law enforcement from eating there last Thursday. Following the incident, Skagit County Sheriff Will Reichardt took to social media to share his story with the world.

As Fox News reports, the local sheriff said on Facebook that four of his officers had been dining there last Thursday when they were approached by an employee who told them not to eat there anymore. The deputies said that the reason they were given for being banned from the restaurant is that the rest of the establishment’s patrons “didn’t like law enforcement.”

Later in the day, the Washington department’s chief deputy reportedly called the restaurant to verify the eatery’s new ban on cops. According to the deputy, he spoke to the owner of the Washington State restaurant at that time. Not only did the officer say that the restaurant owner confirmed the ban on police officers, he alleges that the restaurant owner told the officer to spread the word among other local departments and law enforcement agencies.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8VkqXz0hoI

The sheriff’s tale, which he posted to social media, quickly went viral, and the public backlash against the Washington State restaurant was swift and brutal.

Outraged patrons took to Twitter to share their anger at the restaurant, its owners, and its management for their reported law enforcement ban. Many social media users called for a ban on the Washington State establishment, while a few called on cops to refuse to respond if the restaurant ever happened to call 911 or be in need of assistance.

Following the massive amount of public backlash, the owner of the Washington State restaurant has now recanted his words. According to multiple reports, both the owner of Lucky Teriyaki, and his son, have issued public apologies to local law enforcement (and, presumably, the world) for what happened. According to the owner of the Washington State restaurant, the entire incident was one giant misunderstanding.

Despite the fact that local law enforcement reported calling the restaurant to clarify the ban on cops.

In addition to publicly apologizing for the proposed ban on cops, the Washington State restaurant, located in Sedro-Wooley, has also promised to provide law enforcement with free meals on Monday, July 18, as a result of the highly-publicized debacle.

According to Q13 Fox, the incident involving the Washington State restaurant and local law enforcement has now been fully resolved. At least according to Skagit County sheriff Will Reichardt. He says that he has now personally spoken with the owner of Lucky’s, and he feels as though the matter has been handled appropriately.

“They apologized for the incident that made news yesterday, and expressed their desire to accept everyone to their business, including law enforcement officers associated with all offices and departments.”

The local sheriff says that he appreciates the outpouring of public support for law enforcement in the area, but he is now encouraging the public to “patronize” the Washington State restaurant once again.

It’s difficult to tell if the public will take him up on his advice, despite the fact that he now appears to be placated.

The owner’s son has repeatedly and sincerely stuck to his version of events. Namely, that the entire situation was nothing more than a misunderstanding. He said that the miscommunication was most likely due to the “language barrier” between Lucky Teriyaki’s ownership and local police.

On Thursday, when Reichardt posted his scathing account of what happened at the Washington restaurant, he wrote that he understood that the restaurant had a right to refuse service it its ownership/management chose to do so.

“I understand a business owner has a right to refuse service if he wants to … I also understand that as customers we all have the right to find some other restaurant to take our lunch break in.”

What do you think about the situation between owners and law enforcement patrons at the Lucky Teriyaki restaurant? Was it handled appropriately? Was the sheriff correct in blasting the establishment on social media? Did the Washington State restaurant make appropriate amends?

[Image via Shutterstock]

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