SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The owners of a San Francisco restaurant have apologized for turning three police officers off duty over the weekend because their guns made their employees “uncomfortable.”
Restaurant owners Hilda and Jesse apologized in a social media post published Sunday after outcry and calls to boycott the restaurant because officers were told to leave shortly after they sat down on Friday.
The restaurant owners said in a Saturday post that officers were politely asked to leave the restaurant because the restaurant is a “safe place and the presence of officers’ guns made us feel uncomfortable.”
Officers would be welcome at the North Beach restaurant when off duty, without their uniforms and without their guns, the Post added. The post was deleted on Monday.
“We made a mistake and apologize for the unfortunate incident on Friday when we asked members of the San Francisco Police Department to leave our restaurant,” said Rachel Sillcocks and Kristina Liegas, co-owners of the Hilda and Jesse restaurant, where apology post .
“These are stressful times and we’ve dealt with them poorly,” they added.
On Saturday, San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott tweeted about the incident and said his department encourages officers to support local businesses and meet members of the community.
“The San Francisco Police Department stands for safety with respect, even if it means honoring requests that our officers and I find discouraging and personally disappointing,” he tweeted.
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