Chipotle has apologized to the NYPD after an employee greeted a group of cops by putting his hands up in the air, a gesture that's become a potent symbol of protest against indiscriminate police brutality across America. The incident occurred at the Montague Street Chipotle location in Brooklyn Heights on December 16th, when a group of nine officers came in to buy dinner. According to a statement from the chain's CEOs, one employee raised his or her hands "in what appears to have been a gesture of protest against the NYPD."
A pro-NYPD Facebook page reportedly asserted that the officers were turned away, but Chipotle insists the security camera footage indicates they left of their own accord after feeling slighted. Obviously they haven't tried Chipotle's new braised tofu Sofritas; you could accuse me of being an instrument of late-capitalist oppression all day and I'm still getting that Sofritas burrito bowl with extra guacamole.
"We work very hard to ensure that every customer in our restaurants feels welcome and is treated with respect,” co-CEO’s Steve Ells and Monty Moran said in a statement. “Clearly, the actions of this crew member undermined that effort." In addition to apologizing, the CEOs said, "We have taken appropriate actions with regard to the crew member involved, but we are not at liberty to discuss the specific actions taken."
Reached by phone, an employee at the Brooklyn Heights Chipotle location refused to say whether anyone was fired over the incident, but "appropriate actions" sound pretty ominous in the context of a corporate jargon apology. Oh, that politically conscious Chipotle worker? Won't see him no more.
Ironically, this is the very same Chipotle location that was caught giving NYPD officers big discounts.
