A Kansas police officer who claimed McDonald’s employees wrote the words “F****** PIG” on his order has resigned, after it came out that he made up the entire encounter, officials said.
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The incident began Saturday, when an unnamed 23-year-old officer with the Herington Police Department alleged he received the cup at a McDonald’s at Junction City, the department said in a statement.
The officer sent a picture of the cup to Chief Brian Hornaday and then uploaded a photo of the cup to Facebook.
The police department soon determined that he fabricated the story.
"In (our) investigation we have found that McDonald's and its employees did not have anything whatsoever to do with this incident,” Hornaday said in a statement. “This was completely and solely fabricated by a Herington police officer who is no longer employed with our agency.”
He added that the incident, which the officer said was “meant to be a joke,” was an “obvious violation of … public trust.”
The officer had only been with the force for two months and was a former military officer.
After the photo was shared on social media, McDonald’s conducted their own investigation and reviewed their security tapes, which confirmed no employee wrote any such words on his cup. “The evidence confirmed our evaluation that McDonald’s and our crew members were absolutely not involved,” franchise owner Dana Cook said. "We took seriously our role to be transparent and fully cooperative with Chief Hornaday throughout his investigation, and we look forward to continuing a strong relationship with the department.”
Hornaday said the incident should serve as a reminder to think twice when posting to social media.
“I hope he understands the magnitude of the black eye that this gives the law enforcement profession from coast to coast,” Hornaday said. “None of us can be excluded from that.”
McDonald’s told Inside Edition that they thank the police department for investigating the incident, which they called troubling.
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