Cop Complains Burger Was Tainted. He Got It Wrong

A Fort Myers police officer noticed something unusual on his Burger King receipt: The word "POLICE" appeared on the ticket, something Tim McCormick hadn't seen done before. And he suspected there was something nefarious going on: The News-Press reports he took to Facebook on Wednesday with a big complaint: that the workers at the 4004 Cleveland Avenue had put dirt on his burger. "At first I thought it was just burned old bacon, I was hungry and ate the burger, at the last bite I saw dirt and grit on the burger. In disgust, I threw it out of the window," he wrote in the since-deleted post written under the Facebook name Mac O'Durham. He also indicated that when he went back into the restaurant to complain the staff "had a good laugh."

The News-Press reports the post quickly picked up steam and was shared more than 18,000 times by Wednesday night. Except it turns out there was no dirt. Dan Fitzpatrick, the CEO of the company that runs that Burger King and more than 160 others across three states, quickly got involved. He says senior level Fort Myers Police Department officials and his regional manager reviewed surveillance footage of employees preparing food on the day in question and saw nothing untoward. Their conclusion: McCormick likely mistook the salt and pepper spice blend for dirt. As for the "POLICE" label, Fitzpatrick says each guest is asked for their name in the spirit of good customer service, and that McCormick responded by saying "police officer." (This cop wrongly alleged his lemonade was spiked with drugs at Subway.)