A gas station clerk has been fired after a Miramar Police officer said he was refused service on the same day three officers were killed in an ambush in Baton Rouge.
According to the report released by Miramar Police, the uniformed officer was at the Sunoco station at 1700 S. Douglas Road Sunday afternoon when he tried to buy a Gatorade.
The officer said he was approached by a clerk who asked why they arrested his "boy," the report said. "Ya'll got my boy in the back of that car outside the gas station," the clerk said, according to the report. The officer responded that the person was arrested but he couldn't give more information.
When the officer went to pay for the drink the clerk was behind the register but refused to ring him up multiple times and said "you know why," the report said.
"Get out of my way, I need to attend to customers," the clerk told the officer, according to the report. The officer stepped to the side so the customers could pay but when they were done, the clerk again refused to ring up the officer, the report said.
The clerk refused to give his name to the officer, who asked why he was being refused service.
"Because I don't have to, that's why," the clerk said, according to the report.
Broward County PBA President Jeff Marano called for a national boycott of Sunoco following the incident.
"On a day when three officers are slain in Baton Rouge, La., and a fourth is fighting for his life, how can anyone deny service to a uniformed police officer?" Marano said in a statement.
Sunoco released a statement Monday that said the store is independently owned and operated, and apologizing for the way the officer was treated.
"The actions described by the police officer are unacceptable and are not something that Sunoco would tolerate at any station bearing the Sunoco brand. After investigating the circumstances in conjunction with the local owner-operator, the employee was terminated. We apologize to the officer involved, and to all law enforcement officers who were understandably offended by this incident," Sunoco's statement said. "The nation’s police officers are a precious resource, and Sunoco welcomes them in our stores as customers and protectors of our community every day."
