McDonald's Coffee Cup Incident Was a Hoax Perpetrated by the Police

The officer responsible has been fired.

Remember the Kansas police officer who claimed that McDonald's employees had written "fucking pig" on his coffee cup? Welp, it was a hoax: The officer wrote the message himself.

Herington Police Chief Brian Hornaday did not reveal the 23-year-old officer's name, but did say that the individual has been fired, according to KSNT.

"Now, this is absolutely a black eye on law enforcement," said Hornaday. "I truly hope that the former officer of the Herington Police Department that did this, I hope he understands the magnitude of the black eye that this gives the law enforcement profession from coast to coast. None of us can be excluded from that."

The incident should remind everyone not to immediately succumb to knee-jerk outrage when they read news stories like the initial one about the coffee cup. Not every hateful incident is exactly what it appears to be, or even real. It's always prudent to wait for more details, since in many cases these kinds of things turn out to be hoaxes—and the police are perfectly capable of spreading misinformation.

Comments

[Fist of Etiquette]

"Now, this is absolutely a black eye on law enforcement," said Hornaday.

"If he had simply shot an unarmed barista, that could be forgiven. But this made us look bad!"

[Stuart66]

Better yet, (and much more likely) if he would've shot an unarmed, minority Barista 23-times and 7 other innocent bystanders, at least 3-times each while they were all attempting to capture the incident(s) on their cell phones.

[CGN]

Why does ANYONE think government at ANY level exist to do good? Government exists to take too much money, harass those they don't like or agree with it, and send cops out to be their bully boys, rather than to prevent and solve crimes. I wish we TRULY had an actual democracy, where everyone votes, and not just for the next president, but for EVERYTHING!!! Though this sound unwieldy, it beats the hell out of our current systems of government.

[CLM1227]

You have a false idea of what government is. Rulers are there to do just as you say. Some may even govern. Our governing system was designed to syphon power away from singular rulers, but governing in large societies and civilizations is a must and will happen whether you like it or not. Less governing is needed when everyone agrees and has a largely uniform (and GOOD) moral foundation. MORE governing is needed in diverse groups with diverse values and diverse moral systems to keep people from killing eachother.

You and every libertarian fail when you assume the problem is powerful "Government". The problem is powerful PEOPLE. But you think allowing private enterprise to become powerful, monopolized, and running your government through money and influence doesn't jeopardize your freedoms. That's a fault in your thinking.

Governing isn't the bad guy. Its who does the governing and how much accountability they have that needs to be addressed.

[CGN]

Cops, for the most part, exist to bully people, do the will of crooked and/or stupid people, such as Gordon Anderson of CHR who had a lawyer threaten me with a lawsuit for emailing statements he didn't like to the firm.

[Longtobefree]

Well, it was what the barista would have written if he had the balls, so it still counts as real; just like MSM made up quotes, and certain phone call logs read into the congressional record.

[BearOdinson]

"Fake but accurate"
Dan Rather

COURAGE!

[Dillinger]

>>The incident should remind everyone not to ...

J'adore comment tu parents.

[I'm Not Sure]

Cops lie? This is news?

[You're Kidding]

Lawyers too. They can make up "alternative" scenarios in court with impunity to sway juries.

[Jamie]

"When cops tell you who they are, believe them".
-Maya Angelou (kinda)

[Insert clever name]

And in other news, rocks are hard, water is wet.

[hpearce]

This incident shows what is wrong with many right - wingers - when an issue comes up that they oppose then the enemy becomes the people who might think that way rather than the idea itself

[Brandybuck]

Not just right-wingers. Left-wingers do this shit too. Hell, the left-wingers wrote the book the right-wingers are now following!

[Red Rocks White Privilege]

This was basically a cop version of the hate hoax where the dyke waitress gets no tip and a nasty message from the customer.

[Dillinger]

the poop swastika @ Mizzou is my fave. Go Tigers!

[DarthHusker]

I'm real happy for you and I'm gonna let you finish, but Juicy Smollett has tyke greatest hate crime hoax of all time!

[GroundTruth]

Cute (good cute, not ugh cute) use of multiple links in "in many cases these kinds of things turn". A bunch of good ones there! Don't forget the kid from Covington HS and the native American at the Lincoln Memorial; the general news media were ready to lynch that kid!

[SIV]

A general manager at this McDonald’s told KSNT News, “We take this matter very seriously and are investigating it right now.”

What was amusing was how many "kneejerk reactions" misread this as the police were doing the "investigating" and the false assumption that there was some widespread outrage over the disgraced ex-officer's spurious claim.

[Snorkle]

In other news, water was discovered to be wet.

Reason #437 for the death of local newspapers: tight relationships with local LE.

What's left of the older white, suburban middle class might still enjoy the hero-worship beat sweeteners interspersed with "drug addled zombie eats victim's face" crime-fiction, but everyone else just rolls their eyes and downgrades their estimation of the value of the news.

[Azathoth!!]

The people who made a fuss over this story are the same people who are making a fuss that it's fake.

If you'd left it where it belonged when it happened--filed under 'no one cares', you could have gone home early this New Year's Eve. Instead, you've gotta sit and answer the bullshit controversy you, yourselves faked up.

Good job 'journalists'

[SIV]

^THIS^

[TripK2]

You clicked on it.

[DarthHusker]

That's the issue. It becomes interesting when it becomes big. That's why media hype is hard to fight, because at some point the fact that there was a story is an actual story, and the story matters because people are paying attention to it. So the whole thing is a positive feedback loop.

[spork]

So it turns out that the message was true, even though it was a hoax.

Also, "immediately succumb[ing] to knee-jerk outrage" is all I have left... please don't take that away!

[BigT]

just like at a party where you write your own name on the cup.

[Duke of url]

Just remember folks, this was a young inexperienced rookie who just made a mistake.
A seasoned veteran with years on the force would have confiscated all the surveillance video when framing an innocent fast food worker.

[Freddy the Jerk]

A seasoned veteran with years on the force would have confiscated all the surveillance video when framing an innocent fast food worker.

Don't you even cop, dude? A seasoned veteran would have turned off his body cam, waited 30 seconds (that damn buffer), taken all the money in the till (possible drug money, dontcha know), shot the blind customer's dog (furtive movements FTW!), propositioned/threatened at least 3 female customers (including a 90 year-old great-grandmother), *then* confiscated all the surveillance video.

[DarthHusker]

You forgot the part where he fears for his life the whole time. I guess that goes without saying.

[virex]

“ Now, this is absolutely a black eye on law enforcement”

Hey! Just like 40% of their wives!

[Snorkle]

What's a cop do after they get laid?

Wipe the pepper spray out of their eyes.

[williams25248]

Every time I see one of these so-called "incidents" my automatic assumption is that it was staged. Almost never fails, it is.

[DEdwards]

They didn’t fire him for lying. They fired him for not shooting the coffee cup that sassed him.

[MatthewSlyfield]

He should have called for SWAT backup so they could shoot the McDonald's building until it suffered irreparable structural damage.

[DarthHusker]

False. Unless he's a necrophiliac, no cop would have sex with a woman who pepper sprayed him... So I guess LAPD officer David Rojas might.

[williams25248]

"the 23-year-old officer"

Well, there's your problem right there. Way too young to be a police officer, limited life experience, maturity at that age is still an issue.

[Freddy the Jerk]

"Maturity" and "cop" do not tend to go in the same sentence, regardless of age.

[jack murphy]

i disagree freddy, my experience is that after 40 or so cops get perspective and are way less assholey. the young ones are still all full of themselves and stiff legged and officious.

[Freddy the Jerk]

Never dealt with an old cop, so perhaps you're right.

[jack murphy]

excellent point. when i am boss of you all i will prohibit ex military and males younger than 27 as cops. they're dumb kids.

[Mongo]

I told everyone that the cop could've easily wrote it himself back when it happened and am not surprized at all now.

[BearOdinson]

How is it that a cop stages a hoax over "fucking pig" written on a coffee receipt is fired (which I am totally fine with) and yet, a different cop is found literally passed out drunk in his unmarked police car with a BAC of 0.45 (I would think he should be dead), and he has received ZERO criminal charges, and is STILL on the force.

I realize they are different departments, but FFS!!

[Think It Through]

Because one of them is guilty of the heinous crime of cultural appropriation (fake insult outrage hoaxes are TOTally a prog thing; a cop doing it is appropriation), while the other is not, demonstrating that he is properly living within his culture (drunkenness is in the cop zeitgeist).

[Fancylad]

Shut up, Tony.

[EWM]

"The whole good cop/bad cop question can be disposed of much more decisively. We need not enumerate what proportion of cops appears to be good or listen to someone's anecdote about his Uncle Charlie, an allegedly good cop. We need only consider the following: (1) a cop's job is to enforce the laws, all of them; (2) many of the laws are manifestly unjust, and some are even cruel and wicked; (3) therefore every cop has agreed to act as an enforcer for laws that are manifestly unjust or even cruel and wicked. There are no good cops." ~Robert Higgs

[virex]

ACAB

[StoptheBS]

You gotta love all of the softheads here today, briefly escaping moms basement to spread their "all cops bad, all criminals good" message of hope to the snowflake world. Mom must be so proud.

[Freddy the Jerk]

“all cops bad, all criminals good” is self-contradictory.

[Mongo]

I fucked your Mom's bad mouth with my even worse choad.

[Tony]

Did you grow up with anyone who wanted to be a cop? They were, to a person, retarded assholes, were they not?

[DarthHusker]

Hey! I wanted to be a cop when I was very young, but in my defense all I knew then was what I was told about then being heroes and such. Then I graduated to first grade and wanted to be an astronaught instead.

[Tony]

As far as I know, not a single astronaut has killed an unarmed black person in space.

[Steve-O]

Well, we haven't quite gotten Space Force off the ground yet . . .

[Earth Skeptic]

Black Eyes Matter!

[Earth Skeptic]

"The incident should remind everyone not to immediately succumb to knee-jerk outrage when they read news stories like the initial one about the coffee cup. Not every hateful incident is exactly what it appears to be, or even real. It's always prudent to wait for more details, since in many cases these kinds of things turn out to be hoaxes"

You're so adorable!

[Liberty Lover]

Not new, not unusable, and not ending soon due to the "Internet". Do you really believe waitresses are writing racist comments on recipients? Believe me, they are busy, and don't have time for such nonsense. I am 64, and no waitress has ever written anything, good, bad or indifferent on my receipt.

[Stuart66]

I receive kind messages from waitresses on my receipts all the time. Perhaps, when warranted, you might consider tipping them a little better. For many of them, tips are the most significant portion of their total pay. The best ones always deserve acknowledgment ($$$) of the good service they provide. It's money well spent and equally well deserved.

[virex]

If by “a significant portion” you mean almost all of their pay, then that’s correct. On payday I’d usually get a $40-$60 check after taxes for 2 weeks of waiting tables.

[Hank Phillips]

Well, I'm sure the officer's motives were altruistic. Those guys are ordered by politicians to pester, harass, intimidate, threaten, assault, rob, fine, ticket, trick, swindle, con, shoot and murder people who are minding their own business. Officers are simply enforcing the letter and spirit of whatever law looters eructate onto the books, so of course they're vilified by simpletons. Good motives make publicity stunts OK, right?

[NoVaNick]

The McDs employee may not have written fucking pig on the coffee cup, but I am certain that at least one has pissed in a cop’s drink.

[jack murphy]

a cop lied. slow news day? that's what they do.

the recommended response to any of this stuff is "bullshit".

repeat after me...cops lie

[williams25248]

Yeah, sure. ALL of them.

[Tony]

"This will go easy for you if you just tell me what I want to know."

[williams25248]

This wasn't a hoax "perpetrated by the police", it was a hoax perpetrated by ONE young police officer. One guy, doing something dumb, 23 years old. Shouldn't have been a cop in the first place.

[ahmedfathy]

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