Davenport's Ale House came under fire for turning away officers in uniform. (Google Street View)
On the evening of August 26, bars and restaurants from coast to coast were flooded with patrons eager to watch the highly anticipated boxing match between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor. However, “The Money Fight” soon sparked a showdown in real life when a Davenport, Fla. restaurant allegedly turned away two deputies in uniform.
Crystal Nobre, whose husband is a Polk County law officer, told her side of the story from the Central Florida LEO Wives Facebook page in a post that has since gone viral. She wrote that a group of off duty officers, out of uniform, were out to dine with their wives at Davenport’s Ale House and watch the Mayweather-McGregor matchup from a reserved table.
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But when on-duty Deputies Robert Bryant and Michael Honiker arrived to meet the group and watch part of the fight during their break, a security guard at the entrance told them, “I prefer you not to be here, you might scare people off”, The Ledger reported.
According to ABC Action News, the officers texted Nobre the news. Infuriated, she went to the door to question security, who confirmed that the officers were indeed asked to leave. She asked to escalate her complaint to a manager, and owner Danny Chopra intervened to speak with Nobre and apologize for the miscommunication.
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"We are extremely sorry it was a misunderstanding, any law-enforcement are always welcome at our restaurant," said Chopra, according to ABC. Further, he added that he was falsely informed by the assistant manager that the deputies arrived to serve a warrant.
If Chopra had known the deputies were just there to eat, they “absolutely, 100 percent” would have been welcomed in, he added.
Nobre's post also enraged the local community via social media, with many individuals claiming to never patronize the Davenport Ale House wagain.
“An apology is not enough. For an establishment to turn them away for dinner, no I’m not going to have that. That’s unacceptable in my mind,” Nobre told WFLA.
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In addition, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office wrote on their Facebook page that Captain Ken Raczynski met with Chopra and Ray, the general manager, on Monday, Aug. 28, to discuss the altercation. They reported that amends had been made, and thanked the community for their support of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office throughout the situation.
“We thank Danny and Ray for reaching out to us and for their sincere and thoughtful conversation. We whole-heartedly accept their apology for what happened," they said. "We believe people can make a mistake, apologize for it, and move forward.”
Polk Sheriff Grady Judd himself told The Ledger that the heat of the moment, Chopra handled the situation effectively.
“This was not a reflection of the Ale House as we know it as a business partner in the community, and as soon as the manager heard about it he wanted them to come back. The management was spot on, and they tried to unwind it,” he said.
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