Chick-fil-A issues a groveling apology after Black cop is forced to pay for meal while White cops were free

[Baitball Blogger]

Tracey Reid, a sergeant in the Clover Police Department in South Carolina, said that he felt "humiliated" during the incident, which he feels was racially motivated.

Reid said that the incident occurred in a Georgia branch of the fast food chain a few weeks ago.

He told WOSC that he was standing with his colleagues while they were in line for their order and that they were clearly in the “same uniform.”

However, when they were given their food for free, Reid was told that he needed to pay.

“I was kind of humiliated and embarrassed, you know, at the whole situation. It seemed like it was a racial issue to me,” he said.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/chick-fil-a-tracey-reid-police-officer-b2847488.html

- - - - - - -

‘Fake Apology!’: Chick-fil-A Sparks Outrage After Black Officer Was Forced to Pay While White Partners Ate Free — Then Came the Excuse No One’s Buying

“I was kind of humiliated and embarrassed, you know, at the whole situation. It seemed like it was a racial issue to me,” Reid said.

Reid wrote a letter to Chick-fil-A corporate, demanding retraining for staff members at the Augusta location he visited and for stronger compliance with civil rights laws.

The Augusta store owner wrote back, apologizing for the incident and offering Reid two vouchers for free meals, but Reid said something in the manager’s response was lacking.

“[The letter] said it was perceived that it was a racial incident, which I didn’t like, because it wasn’t perceived; it actually happened,” Reid said.

“He’s not the only one that perceived it. We all did, and it’s not perception, it’s what happened. It was a racial issue,” Barnette added. “I felt like it was a racial thing, and I felt like he was singled out.”

https://atlantablackstar.com/2025/10/15/chick-fil-a-sparks-outrage-after-black-officer-was-forced-to-pay-while-white-partners-ate-free-then-came-the-excuse-no-ones-buying/

[walkingman]

1. Christians.....what are we gonna do with them?

[Baitball Blogger]

2. I am waiting for Pope Leo to send Opus Dei to the woodshed.

A very exciting time to be writing thrillers.

[popsdenver]

71. they focused on their 70 million

potential customers, and didn't care about the other hundred of millions.....

Hey, they grew it, they can chew it, munch munch munch................

I would like to see, after that happening, if any of his fellow white cops continue to go there.......

[k55f5r]

100. We already have collisiums in every large city,

and zoos, too.

[mwmisses4289]

3. Can't stand chik filet.

Their food is fried in peanut oil, which makes it off limits to me. It also gives food fried in it a nasty, bitter taste.

[Pinback]

20. I'd never eat at a Chick-Fil-A under any circumstances

even if they served something I’d actually consider digestible, because they’re a fake-Christian homophobic and racist organization.

Would love to see a boycott over this.

[Skittles]

34. SAME

their non-open-on-Sunday pious bullshit, as if no one HAS to work on Sundays - I worked weekends my entire career

[Henry203]

37. I sued to go to their HQ all the time

and consulted with them on cash registers. I don't think they are fake christians.

[travelingthrulife]

96. Really? Ask them about schools and immigrants and people of color.

Christians are mandated by Jesus to welcome immigrants, care for the sick and poor, etc.

I have not met one American evangelical christian that is not a bigot or misogynist at heart. Comes with the territory. They are taught they are the best and saved no matter what they do. They are force-fed paternalism day and night.
It is why they lie, cheat and steal so easily...see GOP...they think they are already saved.

[Henry203]

36. I used to go to HQ

and consulted on cash registers. I don't think they are fake christians.

[tintinvotes]

42. Real Christians don't hate the gays

[Mosby]

75. That's a "no true scotsman" logical fallacy

Just saying.

[Skittles]

64. "judge not lest ye be judged"

I guess they missed THAT lesson

[electric_blue68]

60. Two have setted in Manhattan as far I know in the past ?8 yrs. No, I won't eat there.

[Wednesdays]

61. A worldwide boycott is LONG overdue. nt

[LoisB]

66. Same here.

[sakabatou]

4. I have never been to one of those place and swore never to go to one

years and years ago.

[Ritabert]

5. Still boycotting Chick-fil-a for their LGBTQ nonsense

I will continue.

[Dr. T]

21. LGBTQ nonsense is just the tip of the iceberg.

There's 100 other reasons to boycott and 100 other restaurants to patronize. That company is rotted from the top down. Not a good business model.

[Ritabert]

24. Good to know I'm right about the boycott.

[Norrrm]

33. One of those times, C F A had a record sales night.It was due to right wing support and purchases.

It was for the issue, not the taste or quality of their food.

[obnoxiousdrunk]

62. Yes.

The boycott backfired with record sales.

[MorbidButterflyTat]

106. The CFA boycott is ongoing.

It hasn't "backfired" because it's never ended.

Curious what you consider the goal of a boycott is.

[MorbidButterflyTat]

105. "One of those times..."

What does that mean?

The poster said they will continue their own personal boycott of Chick-fil-a because of the LGBTQ nonsense.

I wonder if the "record sales night" was self reported, and how CFA knew their customers were right wingers.

[Norrrm]

108. At that particular record sales day, the right wingers were very vocal about why they were doing such massive purchasing

It was their own counter-protest about the LGBTQ issue.

[happy feet]

89. Me too

[sdfernando]

6. Never gave set foot or car in any of their locations

never bought anything from them. When their food was brought in to work for meetings or lunches I skipped past it and if asked why I would tell whomever asked why I boycott them.

[Maraya1969]

7. I have yet to buy one french fry from that place. And I don't intend to change my mind

[PittBlue]

8. I hope his fellow officers spoke up...

That is utterly disgusting.

[BaronChocula]

13. "He said he had to pay for his meal and it infuriated me,"

said Detective Thomas Barnette. “And I said, ‘You want me to go say something?’ He was like, no, I don’t want you to cause a scene, but I could tell the way he looked; he just looked at his plate, he looked sad and humiliated and that made me really mad.”

[questionseverything]

9. It's bullshit that cops expect free food at all, it's like demanding a bribe so they will do their jobs

[BaronChocula]

17. I think it's the same impulse that makes people say

"most cops are good" without really knowing if that's really true. I've had decent experiences with cops, but I always wondered which of them would actually turn in a member of their squad who did something illegal.

Frank Serpico talked about being persona non grata in NYPD offices decades after his situation. Might still be the case.

[unblock]

38. Fair point, but having decided to give free food to some of the cops, they needed to be consistent....

[questionseverything]

43. Of course

[hunter]

10. How the hell are cops accepting free stuff?

I don't know the specific regulations are where I live, but I do know the cops won't accept free meals and will get offended if anyone pushes. I've actually witnessed this playing out in local restaurants, fast food, and coffee places

It's not just the overt racism that's the problem here.

It's like, "What's next, free blow jobs from the local hookers?"

[calimary]

11. Well, I guess that's one way to "Support your local Sheriff".

[Xavier Breath]

45. Couldn't hurt with recruiting, either.

[irisblue]

14. I see you know Nicholas Duty, former C-bus cop who is serving time for sex crimes against hookers

https://www.nbc4i.com/news/local-news/columbus/former-columbus-police-officer-federally-sentenced-for-improper-encounters-with-multiple-women/

[Nittersing]

55. I worked in a coffee shop, Denver, '78-'85. Cops wouldn't let us buy

I remember one morning they got a call, didn't finish their food and still insisted on paying as they rushed out the door.

[druidity33]

87. I've worked at 3 coffeeshops...

1 of them was corporate, 2 were independent. In all 3 we gave cops free coffee, but they had to pay for food. Seemed reasonable to me. In one of them we were allowed to give free coffee to EMT and Fire as well (not the corporate one).

[hunter]

109. It's unseemly and unprofessional.

Especially these days where you can pay for stuff simply by tapping a card.

Where do you draw the line?

Free coffee, free lunch, guys stopping by saying, "This is a nice place, it would be a shame if anything happened to it...."

In many parts of the world, including some places in the United States, the police and organized crime coexist or are indistinguishable from it.

It's not all Maybery RFD.

The 99% white town where I grew up was very unfriendly to people who did not "belong." Mostly that meant black people, who couldn't drive through town without getting pulled over by the police, who couldn't shop or eat in restaurants without the police showing up to casually observe them. The town claimed to be one of the safest places to live in the U.S.A.. It was too, if you were an affluent white person.

As a young adult traveling throughout the Western U.S.A. I recall small towns that were almost feudal states controlled by one or two families using the local police as their enforcers. Yes, the local police got free lunches. So did the sheriff deputies on the rare occasions they stopped by. I don't know what else they got for free.

There are many small towns and cities in the U.S.A. that would love to have a Chick-fil-A on their main street and I'm certain that Chick-fil-A is adept at greasing these wheels of commerce as local custom demands.

[druidity33]

110. Where do you draw the line?

At free coffee. Not a latte or cap. Never a muffin or croissant. Just Coffee. I was also authorized to give coffee away to the homeless and indigent at the 2 independent shops i worked. One of the cops at my second coffee shop job(a big black guy named Donald if you can believe it) was the only cop to regularly tip for that free coffee. At a different job as a bartender OTOH cops were NEVER given ANYTHING free. Not even a soda.

[irisblue]

12. How surprising is it that a homophobic company is also racist?

[lame54]

15. Cops accepting bribes in the open

[Oeditpus Rex]

56. It isn't a bribe

unless the cops are doing something in return, such as increasing patrols by the restaurant.

It's a gratuity, a gift, which I've always thought cops weren't allowed to accept, even though a good percentage of 'em probably do.

[lame54]

65. The free food increases police presence...

It's an old trick

[Oeditpus Rex]

68. Yeah...?

And...? :shrug

[Coventina]

16. Better still: ALL COPS SHOULD PAY FOR THEIR DAMN FOOD!

[rsdsharp]

57. Exactly! Unless they're working in a Podunck town, cops are making six figures;

some are making a quarter to a third of a million dollars per year — plus benefits. And this with a GED or high school diploma, and a few months of trade school (13 weeks in my state). They can buy their own damn food!

[miyazaki]

83. Ya really. Serpico still shaking his head. nt

[angrychair]

18. Alternative Headline:

"Racist cops mad about people being racist towards them".

[Aristus]

19. It's f*****g South Carolina, for Christ's sake; leader of the secession charge.

One hundred and sixty years, and nothing has changed.

To Hell with racist, hillbilly rednecks...

[Arrgh]

81. Some of us live here.

My great -great grandfather signed the Ordinance of Secession. But I'm a liberal Democrat. It's bad here, no question, but there's no need to write the whole state off.

And this incident happened in Georgia. Read it again.

[Aristus]

82. My great x4 grandfather signed the Articles of Secession for Georgia.

Fuck that guy. I’m a liberal Democrat, too.

I moved away from the South. It’s fun to pretend that it’s not what it used to be. But I moved away because it’s never changed.

[Quanto Magnus]

22. It was absolutely racial.... they have a history or bigotry

I even know people who admit that it's an obvious bigoted company, but their chicken is SO GOOD they ignore the bigotry... I don't understand this mentality....

That mentality is why so many shitty ass companies stay in business....

[misanthrope]

26. What's so special about fried chicken?

I can get a chicken sandwich from plenty of other places at a more reasonable price.

[MurrayDelph]

104. I go to Popeye's

It's a better sandwich, with better Karma, and you can buy one on Sunday.

I used to go, more than 35 years ago, when I was travelling while working for a big computer company that no longer exists, and found their sandwiches reliably tasty (once you asked for them to omit the pickle) and their waffle fries a ridiculous waste of potato, but once I found out about their policies, I stopped.

After all, if you've never been a customer it's not really a boycott.

[ProfessorGAC]

63. Mind Control

No, I have never had their fried chicken, but i think it's impossible for chicken to be so good that it's a reason to excuse KNOWN corporate flaws.
There are a couple million places to get fried chicken. It's not possible for a fast food joint to be better than everybody else to a degree that it makes their horrible policies ignorable.
Just people getting sucked in by marketing.

[JI7]

84. They also have DEI and treat emolyees well

they have many black, lgbt, and other minorities in top positions.

[xuplate]

23. Definitely racist

But police have no business accepting free food. I took a couple of police science courses years ago and the instructor was adamant about that. The free donut stereotype does not mix well with professionalism.

[Seinan Sensei]

54. Jesus would definitely have to pay for his own meal at Chick-fil-A

He was a brown man
Plus he wore, like, y’know … a gown

[k55f5r]

99. Hey, He ROCKED that gown.

[misanthrope]

25. I stopped patronizing Chik-fil-A nearly 40 years ago

It was as a result of my discovering they closed on Sundays in a public display of religiosity. Not because they wanted to guarantee their workers a day off, but because socially dominant religious doctrine dictates as much. It is a marketing ploy, plain and simple.

It immediately struck the same chord with me that resonates when I see small businesses use prominent religiosity in their marketing, Jesus fish on their work vehicles or Christian scripture in their advertising. If you do good work, treat people fairly and charge reasonable rates, those qualities should be what impresses customers, not religious bias. And honestly, if you are the Christian you try to proclaim yourself to be, those aforementioned attributes would be adhered to anyway and clients would notice for themselves. You wouldn't need some showy display -- dare I say, your "virtue signaling" -- to generate business.

What religious displays in business actually imply to me is that the business owner can't depend on their behavior to convey the depth of their convictions. So they use whatever leverage they can to make a buck. Like a money changer in the temple.

"Never go into business with a religious SOB, as he'll always have his God telling him how to screw you on the deal." -William S. Burroughs

[twodogsbarking]

27. eat more beef

cluck you

[wcmagumba]

28. I never cared for their "food", tasted nasty to me and then I learned about their Right Wing nuttiness...

[Blue Owl]

29. Sounds like a place you'd see Dr. Phil and Stephen Miller eating at

Fuck that shit.

[maliaSmith]

30. Free lunch

No cops should accept anything free like lunch, dinner etc. Pay like the rest of us. You don't get something for free without some sort of payback, It's corrupt.

[James48]

31. Dear Cop:

DO NOT ACCEPT FREE ANYTHING from ANYBODY!


Like what the actual f?

I guess I grew up with different values than police officers.

[enigmania]

32. I tried their "food" about 30 years ago.

Nasty tasting, with a texture like sheet-rock mud. Then, of course, their overt bigotry.

[IronLionZion]

35. They "back the blue" except when the blue is black

kind of like "all lives matter except..."

[BadgerMom]

39. I've never bought food from Chick-Fil-A.

I never will.

[twodogsbarking]

40. They chickened out.

[3Hotdogs]

41. While I agree in this instance, he should'a gotten the comp. BUT

I also feel that none of them should be getting anything for free.

I recall, it was in the 70's and a hot dog joint would give free coffee and tube steaks to cops. It is/was in an urban area with crime, particularly after sundown.

"It's cheaper to give out free dogs than to hire security.

[FakeNoose]

47. Most likely the other fast-food restaurants are also giving free lunches to cops

Singling out the one black cop like that was an awful to do!
It's best to follow the local norm, that's my thought.

[MurrayDelph]

107. Decades ago, I dated someone who worked at a Winchell's in Scottsdale

They said the policy of giving free coffee and donuts to police was so they would hang around, cutting down the likelihood of the late-night place being robbed.

[SocialDemocrat61]

44. I am proud to say

I have never eaten at Chick-fil-A. I refuse to help fund their BS.

[Buddyzbuddy]

46. Never ever had a chickensh*t sandwich from there

and I never will as long as they practice their Christofacist policies. That goes for Hobby Lobby and Staples too.
How many here continue to fill their coffers? I understand when you live where choices are limited, like Koch Industry products but you gotta at least try. It doesn't make you a bad person, but it sure feels good when you can give them the euphemistic finger.

[Permanut]

48. Never been there, never will..

[ShadesOfBlue]

49. SMDH. This country.

So much trash.

[JoseBalow]

50. Fuck everyone involved with this story

[Seinan Sensei]

51. I bought a whole chicken from them once

It only had a right wing

[COL Mustard]

52. "I'm sorry your feelings were hurt."

That's what the manager is really saying. But hey, it's Georgia...it could have been Alabama or Mississippi and I wouldn't be surprised at all.

[Joinfortmill]

53. Back to the bad old days. Not me and not millions like me.

[Bluestocking]

58. On my boycott list next to hobby lobby

[electric_blue68]

59. "Perceived"? Pfffttttt. Dfferent registers. Riiiight. Reminds me when Black Secret Service Agents were Excessively...

...waiting at a Denny's while their white counterparts were already eating. 😑😬
I think this was during *Clinton's term.


*Oh to be in the timeline where we'd have to distinguish between Bill, and Hillary's terms.
Sigh.

[MichMan]

67. Article doesn't indicate whether it was a franchised store or corporate owned

The Augusta store owner wrote back, apologizing for the incident and offering Reid two vouchers for free meals, but Reid said something in the manager’s response was lacking.

Given they reference the store owner, it sounds like a franchise.

[Chicagogrl1]

69. F*CK Chick-fil-A

Never have been & never will.

[raising2moredems]

70. Will be a cold day in hell....

Before I ever patronize that place - free won't entice me. Same with Hobby Lobby - what crooks when it comes to artifacts on top of their anti stance on far too many things. Remember, our pocketbooks are our most deadly weapon.

[AverageOldGuy]

72. Remember that quote in the closing scene of the movie "Chinatown?"

You know, that scene when the old detective says to Jack Nicholson's character:

"Forget it, Jake. It's South Carolina."

And there you have it. It's South Carolina.

[B.See]

73. Well, as one who's had

Black cop friends, acquaintances, and family members, and been privy to off the record 'family table' conversations re. disparity shown to them from some in the larger community (and within the force as well) I can understand this officer's outrage. But then again, that same kind of disparity was also shown to minority members of the military, like my father, a career military man, who having served his country, had to put up with similar shit.

Regarding cops getting free food, that's an owner's prerogative imo, so long as it comes out of his/her pocket, not mine.

[wolfie001]

74. That's probably their unwritten redneck racist policy

They're only addressing it because the publicity got out of hand. I haven't been to a "Shit fil a" since the '80s. I certainly will never go back. I sure hope no DU'ers go there. christo-fascist business like Hobby Lobby.

[Mosby]

76. I think the staff were/are racist

I also think that cops shouldn't be getting free food.

Fuck that shit.

[Iggo]

79. Their whole operation is anti anybody but straight xians.

[Ilsa]

77. The other LEOs should have pressed on this,

even threatening to leave the store.

I don't mind if any restaurant offers freebies to LEOs, FD or paramedics if they want to. It's their lost business, not mine, and maybe they like having a police presence more frequently.

[Iggo]

78. Threatened to leave? Nah. They should have just left. That's how you do it.

[B.See]

80. Exactly.

[DET]

85. Rock and a Hard Place

I’ve been to Chick-fil-a twice, long before I knew about their fanatical religiosity. I thought the food was inedible, and I’ve never been back. Personally, I don’t have a problem with places that want to give freebies to cops or to anyone else, as long as it’s offered as a gesture of thanks, not a bribe or extortion. This incident, however, seems to be clearly racially motivated, and deserved more than a couple of vouchers. The sergeant’s request for employee retraining was reasonable and should have been implemented. But I don’t think it’s fair to blame an entire company for the discriminatory actions of a single employee, even a company like Chick-fil-a.

[ReRe]

86. (You guys will not believe this:

I have never stepped one foot into a Chick-Fil-A in my long life. Not once.)

They need a good boycotting over this. It was outright blatant racism.

Seriously, they need a hefty serving of the Kimmel effect.

[Emile]

88. Perceived is a word for people who don't take responsibility.

[slightlv]

90. I've never been to a Chick-fil-A,

and they're just ensuring I'll NEVER go in the future!

[Emile]

92. I have never been to one, and have no plans

to go to one.

[TNNurse]

91. I love Chick-fil-A

But quit eating there over the contributions for anti-LGBTQ efforts. This just adds to the awfulness.

[ejbr]

93. Wait..

So he offers free food to someone whose food should have been free to begin with (according to their already active policy)? Basically, his uniform wont work at that location. He needs vouchers.

[mainer]

94. At least his white colleagues backed him up

sounds like they were upset too.

[Paladin]

95. Long-time rightwing ownership, mediocre food at best.

I've been avoiding Chick-fil-A for a long, long time; will continue to do so.

[JohnnyRingo]

97. Why would he want to return with a voucher for a free sandwich?

Clearly, he doesn't know how safe the product would be, considering the racism and now the complaint to corporate.

I can hear them call the order back to the kitchen:
"Free chicken sandwich for that black squealer cop... extra sauce!""

[Clouds Passing]

98. Never ate at Chick-fil-A, never will.

[Historic NY]

101. My question is why are they getting and expecting free food in the first place?

[Upthevibe]

102. Kick. N/T

[Mblaze]

103. That definitely sucks

But why don't all ya'll pay for your fucking lunch?