Burger King has fired five New Mexico employees who were allegedly responsible for insulting a police officer with a drawing of a pig on his food wrapper.

Officer Timo Rosenthal posted the now-viral photo of his fast food order after a recent stop at the Clovis Burger King, showing the drawing of a pig on his burger wrapper.

(Video: KRQE)

“When you order food in uniform,” Rosenthal wrote with the photo he posted to Facebook following his stop at the burger chain.

“Well, while on lunch break (and in uniform) I ordered food at Burger King and received this. The patties were burnt and the burger was of very poor quality. Guess that was the last time I ate at Burger King in Clovis, NM,” he wrote in the post, which has garnered over 3,600 comments.

The chief of the Clovis Police Department told  KRQE that he is disappointed by the treatment the law enforcement officer was given. A spokesperson for Burger King said the behavior was “unacceptable” and that it had fired the employees who were responsible.

“What occurred is unacceptable and not in line with our brand values. When made aware of the incident, the restaurant owner immediately reached out to the officer involved to apologize and terminated the team members involved,” Dereck Young, Burger King vice president, said in a statement to Fox News.

“The restaurant is offering free meals to uniformed officers and will provide a catered lunch to the police department as a gesture of goodwill,” he added.

Rosenthal, who told Fox News that he is a legal immigrant from Germany, said the incident points to the current lack of respect for law enforcement.

(Video: Fox News)

“Everybody has the freedom of speech, you know, if people want to express the hate or resentment they have for law enforcement, they can certainly do that, but if they follow it up with actions which then I don’t get to enjoy my lunch or other actions, I mean you all have in New York the people that throw water on the cops, that’s not OK,” Rosenthal told “Fox & Friends,”  referring to recent attacks in New York City where on-duty police officers were doused with water.

“Once I opened up the burger and saw the burnt patties and the quality of the burger, I knew it wasn’t a joke and knew it was out of spite,” he said.

“I definitely do think they responded the right way,” Rosenthal said about Burger King’s response, adding that he did not blame the fast food chain. “Everybody needs to be held accountable for their own actions and that’s what they did, they’re holding people accountable.”

Folks have been taking to social media to show support for Rosenthal.

“Good to see all those involved were fired,” one Twitter user wrote.

Another responded, “Respect has left the building! It’s just a shame too that [people] are treating one another this way!”

“Totally uncalled for,” added another.

Another replied, “Good job to Burger King for immediately firing the dim-wit employees who disrespected law enforcement. What these punks did was not funny….it was not cute! Sorry to the police officers and thank you for your service.”

• Author
• Recent Posts

Frieda Powers

Senior Staff Writer
[email protected]

Originally from New York, Powers graduated from New York University and eventually made her way to sunny South Florida where she has been writing for the BizPacReview team since 2015.

Latest posts by Frieda Powers (see all)

• ‘Do not lose your life over a f-ing car!’ Brazen thieves tell homeowners to stay inside as they swipe Corvette - April 18, 2024
• Sworn in jurist in Trump hush money trial already dismissed as selection becomes growing nightmare - April 18, 2024
• INSIDER: ‘Speaks volumes!’ Biden ignored when he visits Pennsylvania gas station, stark contrast from Trump - April 18, 2024

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.