An Outback Steakhouse in Cleveland, Tenn., has apologized for mistakenly turning away a uniformed Tennessee wildlife officer for violating its “gun-free” policy when he said he couldn’t leave his firearm outside.
An Outback Steakhouse in Cleveland, Tenn., has apologized for mistakenly turning away a uniformed Tennessee wildlife officer for violating its “gun-free” policy when he said he couldn’t leave his firearm outside. Deb Lindsey The Washington Post file
An Outback Steakhouse in Cleveland, Tenn., has apologized for mistakenly turning away a uniformed Tennessee wildlife officer for violating its “gun-free” policy when he said he couldn’t leave his firearm outside. Deb Lindsey The Washington Post file

National

Gun-free restaurant tells a uniformed officer to leave. It was a mistake, chain says

By Don Sweeney

dsweeney@sacbee.com

February 04, 2018 01:42 PM

Andrew Ward, an officer with the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency, didn’t expect anything but a good meal Friday when he stopped at an Outback Steakhouse for a quick on-duty dinner break with his wife.

Then a manager told Ward that the Cleveland, Tennessee, restaurant was a gun-free zone and asked him to leave his firearm in his truck, he wrote on Facebook. When Ward informed her that he was required to remain armed while in uniform, she asked him to leave.

The manager misunderstood the restaurant’s policy on guns, according to a statement from Bloomin’ Brands, Outback’s parent company, to WLOS.

“We’ve always allowed uniformed law enforcement officers to carry their side arms inside our restaurants,” reads the statement. “A manager made a mistake and we have discussed this with her. We have contacted the guest personally and apologized.”

Ward confirmed on Facebook that the chain had apologized. He said he was told another diner was “scared for her life” because “police are shooting people.” He added that he did not blame the manager and had accepted the apology along with a $100 gift card.

“They have apologized profusely and I have accepted their apology and the issue in my opinion has been concluded,” Ward told WLOS in a statement Saturday.

In a later Facebook post, Ward thanked people for their support. “There was a mistake made and that’s it … we all make mistakes and and must move forward with our lives,” he wrote. “If we move forward and learn from our past mistakes they are no longer mistakes but lessons.”