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A Starbucks worker was fired for printing the word 'pig' on a police officer's cup of hot chocolate

Starbucks fired an employee for writing "PIG" on a police officer's coffee cup instead of his name.

Starbucks PIG Oklahoma

A Starbucks employee was fired after labeling a police officer's cup with the word "PIG" instead of his name in Oklahoma.

Amy Slanchik, a news reporter from the local Oklahoma news channel News On 6, tweeted a photo of the coffee cup where the label "pig" can be seen printed on a sticker. "Pig" is a derogatory term used to describe police officers.

The police officer, who does not wish to be named , was from the Kiefer Police Department and went into the Glenpool branch of Starbucks in Oklahoma to collect five coffees for him and his colleagues, as a thank you for working a Thanksgiving shift on Thursday.

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When Kiefer Police Chief Johnny O'Mara called the branch to complain, he was initially told that Starbucks would be happy to "replace the coffee with a correct label," according to Slanchik.

According to the Independent , O'Mara posted a message on Facebook saying the incident reflected "total disrespect for a police officer who, instead of being at home with his family and enjoying a meal and a football game, is patrolling his little town."

The post from O'Mara appears to have now been removed.

An official statement released by Starbucks described the incident as "absolutely unacceptable."

The employee who wrote the label was fired for violating company policy and using "poor judgement," according to the statement.

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"This language is offensive to all law enforcement and is not representative of the deep appreciation we have for police officers who work tirelessly to keep our communities safe," said Starbucks.

The company has also apologized directly to the officer in question and to Chief O'Mara, it said.

Following the incident, a joint statement was released on Saturday by Starbucks and Kiefer Police Department and announced they will be using this incident in order to "promote greater civility together."

One of their joint ventures is set to be a "Coffee with a Cop" event hosted at Starbucks where the local community will have the chance to meet police officers and discuss the critical role of law enforcement officials in keeping the community safe.

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