A group of five Louisville, Kentucky police officers were denied last week at a Taco Bell by an employee, the Louisville Courier Journal reported.
According to the paper, the officers were on their break from patrolling when they visited the Taco Bell. An unidentified Taco Bell employee told a co-worker he would not serve the officers.
"Another employee stated to a co-worker 'I want to mess with them. I want to mess with them. I’m going to mess with them. I’m going to mess with them,'" Louisville Fraternal Order of Police President Dave Mutchler told the Courier Journal.
The officers left the Taco Bell and reported the incident.
The Louisville Police Department said on Friday night that Taco Bell officials had reached out to the officers involved.
"Taco Bell has continued to express their support for LMPD, visiting with numerous officers at several patrol divisions and LMPD Headquarters," the department said in a statement. "We are grateful to Taco Bell for their efforts and appreciate their willingness to ensure our officers of their support. In these unique times, we also recognize that it's unfair to apply the negative actions of a few to all employees."
The department added that the officers did not wish to see the Taco Bell employees dismissed, rather to receive training to prevent future conflicts.
Taco Bell is owned buy Yum! Brands, which is headquartered in Louisville.