'Stupid Cops' Facebook Post Gets Waitress Fired from Chili's
A working mother who has had a negative experience with law enforcement officials in the past took to her private Facebook account to express her thoughts on the matter — and was promptly fired for it.
Ashley Warden of Piedmont was a waitress at a local Chili's restaurant until her employer was alerted to a Facebook post in which she published a photo of three Oklahoma County Sheriff's deputies outside a Chili's along with the caption "Stupid Cops better hope I'm not their server FDP."
The post went viral on law enforcement sites and garnered significant outrage — significant enough that he employer was notified and she was summarily dismissed.
In a statement to the press, a Chili's spokesperson said Warden violated the company's Social Media Guidelines.
"Here at Chili's, the privacy and safety of our guests as well as the quality of food we serve each day is of utmost importance," read the statement. "With the changing world of digital and social media, Chili's has Social Media Guidelines in place, asking our team members to always be respectful of our guests and to use proper judgment when discussing actions in the work place."
Piedmont Police Chief Alex Oblein told KFOR-TV the post could have meant anything.
"It could mean bad service, it could mean tampering with food," he said. "You don’t know what it means. It just makes you a little weary."
Referencing her previous interaction with the local police department, Oblein noted that the men in the photo were Oklahoma County Deputies.
"[They] had nothing to do with Piedmont, but I guess she got a bad taste in her mouth for law enforcement in general," he said.
That "bad taste" stems from the last time Warden was in the news — when she received a $2,500 fine for allowing her 3-year-old son to urinate in the front yard of their rural house.