Half-chicken half-pork Mexican chain Chipotle has apologized to the New York Police Department for "a wayward employee who mocked officers," an "employee's anti-cop protest," or "a worker's 'hands up, don't shoot' protest," depending on where you get your news.

What actually happened at a Brooklyn Chipotle location Dec. 16 has been so widely misreported on social media that it now has its own Snopes page, where the claim, "Employees at a Chipotle Mexican Grill in Brooklyn refused service to eight uniformed NYPD officers after making a 'hands up, don't shoot' gesture to indicate their distaste for the policemen" is rated "mostly false."

Due in part to a popular Facebook post spreading this version of the story, police supporters, the anti-#BlackLivesMatter set, and the web's worst journalist all called for a boycott of the restaurant and the firing of an employee earlier this week.

After reviewing video footage from that evening, Chipotle's communications director apologized Dec. 27 for what actually happened: "a single Chipotle employee raise[d] her hands in what appears to have been a spontaneous, unplanned gesture of protest directed at the police. The group of officers then left without ordering food."

The co-CEOs of the company issued a further apology Dec. 30, reiterating that the protest "was not a coordinated effort by the staff" and that the cops "chose to leave after encountering this gesture while still waiting in line."

"We have proudly served law enforcement officers in our restaurants around the country for the last 21 years and we continue to do so every day," they added.

Although it's now clear the officers weren't refused service, the outrage on Twitter and Facebook has continued, thanks to people who still believe Chipotle is anti-cop or take issue with the "hands up, don't shoot" gesture itself.

[Photo: AP Images]