The chief of the Jacksonville Beach Police Department warned law enforcement personnel Monday after a local restaurant owner told authorities that his employees have been spitting in officers’ food, according to police documents.
Chief of Police Patrick Dooley sent a department-wide warning after Cruisers Grill owner Bobby Handmaker made the claim during a Monday morning encounter with law enforcement, as indicated by incident reports and other filings obtained by Jacksonville’s First Coast News this week.
Members of the Jacksonville Beach Police had responded to a false fire alarm at Cruisers early Monday when they were approached by Mr. Handmaker and asked to speak with him privately in his office, Officers Allan Ford and Travis Brown wrote in incident reports afterward. The restaurateur then produced a traffic ticket and began complaining about being cited days earlier for driving with an expired registration despite frequently giving discounted food to law enforcement, the officers wrote.
“I explained who I was, and he didn’t seem to care,” Mr. Handmaker told the cops, Officer Brown recalled. “I should have received a warning, being that I’m a resident and a business owner.”
When the cops indicated they couldn’t assist with the owner’s traffic ticket, the officers said he called them “bullies” and made the claim about his employees having spit in their food.
“I have been made aware for quite some time now that some of my employees have been spitting in officers’ food and now I know why, because you all are bullies,” Mr. Handmarker said, according to the incident reports.
Mr. Handmaker has since walked back the claim, but not without prompting the chief of police to warn all law enforcement personnel about the potential risks involved with eating at Cruisers.
“While I will not issue an order prohibiting patronization of Cruisers, please use caution for health and safety reasons if you choose to eat at this establishment. I am providing you this information so that you may make informed personal decisions,” Chief Dooley wrote in Monday’s warning.
Mr. Handmaker went to the police department the following morning to apologize over the incident, Action News Jax reported Wednesday.
“There was a disagreement between an officer and myself. I think it got blown out of proportion,” Mr. Handmaker told the news station.
“Any investigation would reveal Cruisers Grill and its over 100 employees have served our police, firefighters and first responders with the upmost respect for over 20 years. We will continue to,” he said in a statement.
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