TULSA – A south Tulsa restaurant is having to issue a public apology for how they treated a police officer who came to their establishment.
The owners of Red Canyon Grill say they’re sorry for the way a situation involving a Mounds police officer was handled. Restaurant workers informed police officer Brian Radford that he could not openly carry his gun while dining.
Radford was wearing a Mounds Police Department polo shirt when he stopped by the iconic restaurant for lunch. When he asked to put his gun away, Radford declined and left the restaurant.
"That was one of the concerns that Ofc. Radford had was first of all, our police is that you have your sidearm in uniform. That's policy. And that he was not going to be separated from his firearm. So he eloquently said, ‘Okay. I'll go somewhere else and I'll eat somewhere else,’” said Chief Tim McDaniel, Mounds Police Department.
After leaving the restaurant, Radford posted on Facebook about the incident and it eventually went viral.
By Monday morning, Red Rock Canyon Grill was explaining that a manager in training didn’t understand the company’s policy.
"Having a uniformed police officer in your building, it's great to have. It's great for guests to see. It's a nice thing to have in your building,” said Jeremy Brim, Area Partner, Hal Smith Restaurant Group.
Jeremy Brim says Red Rock asks guests not to openly carry in the restaurant, but uniformed police officers are an exception.
"We don't have a problem with carrying arms. We just ask that they're concealed in our building. Of course, law enforcement, that's part of their uniform. I think that's where we had the misunderstanding here. We would never refuse service to law enforcement."
Officials at the Mounds Police Department have spoken to management at Red Rock and say they accept the company's apology.
"The Mounds Police Department would like to reiterate to the public that this was a misunderstanding. And that the restaurant has made a full apology. Not only to Officer Radford, and to the [other] officers, so any misunderstanding on this issue can be squashed,” said Assistant Chief Craig Murray.
Red Rock Canyon Grill says they welcome law enforcement; they even provide a 50 percent discount to officers in uniform.
