Kansas police officer resigns after faking coffee cup slur from McDonald's employee

(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/KSNT)

published 31 December 2019

A 23-year-old police officer in Herington, Kansas, resigned Monday after confessing to fabricating a story about a McDonald's employee writing "F---ing Pig" on his coffee cup. Police Chief Brian Hornaday said at a press conference that the unidentified former officer admitted he "completely and solely fabricated" the incident and said it was "meant to be a joke." Instead, Hornaday said, it's "absolutely a black eye on law enforcement" and an "obvious violation" of the public's trust. The officer, he added, had been with the department for only two months.

Hornaday had posted about the alleged incident on Saturday, reporting that the officer was handed the slur-scrawled cup at the Junction City McDonald's drive-thru on Saturday and saying "this behavior has been, is and always will be wrong." On Monday, McDonald's said a review of its security footage showed that no employees had written those words on the cup. In a press conference at the McDonald's later Monday, Hornaday "applauded" the restaurant for cooperating with his department and conducting its own investigation.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.