A chocolate shop employee with green hair discriminated against a pair of police officers because of their profession. However, after the owner heard that the officers were made to feel unwelcome, there were some big changes made to the candy shop.
According to The Post Millennial, a Seattle police officer and a trainee entered Chocolati in the Wallingford district at around 4:30 pm to purchase some confections. When they walked up to the counter, however, they didn’t receive the friendly welcome they were expecting. In fact, they received no greeting at all.
As hatred and violence toward law enforcement officers become increasingly commonplace, discrimination is just as prevalent. Bizarrely, when employees turn away men and women in uniform, they truly consider themselves to be change-makers. Unfortunately for one chocolatier, it was her boss who made real change.
President of the Seattle Police Officers Guild Mike Solan explained that the officers stood at the counter but were purposefully ignored by the employee, who they described as a white female with green streaks in her hair. Once they finally got her attention, they asked if they could purchase a box of chocolates, to which the woman allegedly replied, “No, I won’t serve you,” Fox News reports. The officers left without incident.
Once The Post Millennial heard about the encounter, the outlet contacted the store for comment. An employee who answered the call seemed to know of the incident and immediately became hostile. When the outlet asked if they could be referred to a manager or store owner, the employee told them to “go f— yourself.”
Upon informing the employee of the purpose of the call, the employee said to The Post Millennial, “Is this how you want to spend your time? Getting essential workers in trouble?” The employee continued, “Shouldn’t you be spending your time harassing homeless people?”
As soon as word got out of the incident, the shop was inundated with complaints of the alleged discrimination, forcing store owner Christian Wong to respond on social media. Incredibly, he made an announcement that left many pleasantly surprised. Wong explained that, while he respects the employee’s right to free speech, he also has the right to choose who works at his shop.
“After fully understanding the facts of this incident, we came to the mutual conclusion that it was in the best interest of both parties to part ways with the team member involved in this incident,” Wong wrote. “We also continue to communicate with our employees about our values and how we serve our customers to ensure an incident like this does not happen again. We will do better.”
Wong added that he will not allow his employees to discriminate against customers, including police officers. The owner admitted that the worker had refused to serve the officers due to her “ideology,” but he acknowledged that her opinion was no excuse to treat them with hostility.
“Discrimination is not a practice that we believe will heal the divide within our city, and we are committed to being a safe and welcoming place for every one of our neighbors,” he wrote.
Wong says that he will be meeting with Seattle police officers in order to make amends. Solan has also extended the invite to the employee to have a discussion and ease tension.
“They were met with a bit of hostility,” Solan said. “But based upon the amount of pushback that company has received from the public and across the nation is that people are still really supportive of the police.”
The anti-police movement has caused some officers to change professions. With violence, riots, and vitriol aimed directly at them, officers can hardly go anywhere without encountering someone who hates or fears them solely because of their occupation. The hatred that once remained on the streets is now spilling over into their daily routines off the clock, convincing many that risking their lives to keep law and order simply isn’t worth it.
