A Kansas police officer "fabricated" a story that a McDonald's employee wrote an expletive on his coffee cup over the weekend, Herington Police Chief Brian Hornaday said Monday. Hornaday said the officer, who no longer works for the department, had originally claimed he had been given a coffee cup on Saturday that had "f***ing pig" written on it.
"We found that McDonald's and its employees did not have anything whatsoever to do with this incident. This was completely and solely fabricated by a Herington police officer who is no longer employed with our agency," Hornaday said at a press conference.
The officer, who has not been identified, was with the Herington Police Department for only two months, Hornaday said.
Hornaday added that his investigation concluded the accusation "was meant to be a joke," and said the officer "should have come forward immediately ... prior to this becoming a nationwide incident."
"This is absolutely a black eye on law enforcement," Hornaday said. "I hope [the former officer] understands the magnitude of the black eye that this gives the law enforcement profession from coast to coast. None of us can be excluded from that."
Dana Cook, the owner of a McDonald's in Junction City, said in a written statement after the allegation was made that the store had video showing it couldn't have been an employee. Cook did not speculate at the time about who may have written the words.
"My McDonald's have the utmost respect for all members of law enforcement and the military and were troubled by the accusation made," Cook wrote in the statement. "We thoroughly reviewed our security video from every angle, which clearly shows the words were not written by one of our employees. We look forward to working with Chief Hornaday as he continues his investigation."
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