Two police officers DENIED service at a Texas Whataburger after manager said the fast food chain 'doesn't serve cops'

  • Officer Cameron Beckham and reserve deputy Michael Magovern claim they were refused food at a Texas Whataburger on Tuesday night
  • They say the man behind the counter, who identified himself as a manager, told them: 'We don't serve police officers'
  • The employee has since been fired from the restaurant in Lewisville
  • Magovern said the fired employee should 'get some people skills'

By Alexandra Klausner

Published: 16:08 EST, 16 September 2015 | Updated: 13:42 EST, 17 September 2015

Two police officers from Lewisville, Texas say they were denied service at a Whataburger because they were cops.

Officer Cameron Beckham and reserve deputy Michael Magovern were on duty to work overnight traffic security at a construction area on Tuesday night but they decided to stop into their local fast food joint for some food before the start of their shift.

Magovern told Fox that a man behind the counter, who identified himself as the manager, looked at him and said, 'We don’t serve police officers.'

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Refused burgers: Officer Cameron Beckham (left) and reserve deputy Michael Magovern (right) say they were denied food at a Whataburger on Tuesday night because they were police 

Refused burgers: Officer Cameron Beckham (left) and reserve deputy Michael Magovern (right) say they were denied food at a Whataburger on Tuesday night because they were police 

Company response: Whataburger said on Wednesday that they fired the employee, who has not been identified, who worked at this Lewisville, Texas location where the police were refused. They also released a public apology

Company response: Whataburger said on Wednesday that they fired the employee, who has not been identified, who worked at this Lewisville, Texas location where the police were refused. They also released a public apology

The officers thought he was joking at first but the employee remained silent and did not smile.

'He said it with a straight face, no smile and just stared at us,' said Magovern to CBS.

'Even if he was joking, I'm not going to eat here because I don't trust that.'

Whataburger said on Wednesday that they fired the employee who has not been named. They also released a public apology.

'We were appalled to hear of an employee refusing service to two officers, as we have proudly served first responders across our system for decades. 

'As soon as we heard of this isolated incident, we began our own internal investigation overnight. The employee that refused service is no longer employed with Whataburger. We've also invited the officers back today so we can apologize in person and make this right,' said the statement.

Magovern said that he still endorses Whataburger as a company and believes this to be an issue with just one employee at the establishment. 

'I knew right off the top this was not a Whataburger corporate issue,' said Magovern.

'This was a single location, employee with a problem issue.'

Officer Becham said that even` if the incident involved just one employee, it is troubling nonetheless.

“It really strikes a nerve personally and professionally because maybe he's joking or maybe he's not, but how do we trust that individual or that company to cook anyone's food now,' Officer Beckham added. 

Magovern suggested the fired employee brush up on his 'people skills.' 

Still likes Whataburger: 'I knew right off the top this was not a Whataburger corporate issue,' said Magovern. 'This was a single location, employee with a problem issue'

Still likes Whataburger: 'I knew right off the top this was not a Whataburger corporate issue,' said Magovern. 'This was a single location, employee with a problem issue'

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