Restaurant apologizes for asking officers to leave because staffers were uncomfortable with their weapons

A San Francisco restaurant on Sunday issued an apology after asking three armed and uniformed police officers to leave due to their weapons making staff feel uncomfortable.

“We made a mistake and apologize for the unfortunate incident Friday when we asked members of the San Francisco Police Department to leave our restaurant,” Rachel Sillcocks and Kristina Liedags Compton, co-owners of Hilda and Jesse, wrote in an Instagram post, according to The San Francisco Chronicle.

The restaurant’s Instagram page appears to have since been taken down.

“We are grateful to all members of the force who work hard to keep us safe, especially during these challenging times,” Sillcocks and Compton continued. “We hope this will be a teachable moment for us as we repair and continue to build bridges with the SFPD. These are stressful times, and we handled this badly.”

According to the Chronicle, the incident occurred on Friday when staff members “politely” asked the officers to leave the restaurant because “the presence of their weapons in the restaurant made us uncomfortable.”

“This is not a political statement, we did what we thought was best for our staff,” the restaurant said in an Instagram post explaining what happened.

In a statement on Twitter, SFPD Chief Bill Scott said, “Community engagement is a core principle of SFPD’s 21st century police reforms, and we are intentional about asking our officers to support local businesses and get to know those they’re sworn to safeguard.”

(2/3) The San Francisco Police Department stands for safety with respect, even when it means respecting wishes that our officers and I find discouraging and personally disappointing.

— SFPD Chief Scott (@SFPDChief) December 5, 2021

“The San Francisco Police Department stands for safety with respect, even when it means respecting wishes that our officers and I find discouraging and personally disappointing,” Scott added.

“I believe the vast majority of San Franciscans welcome their police officers, who deserve to know that they are appreciated for the difficult job we ask them to do — in their uniforms — to keep our neighborhoods and businesses safe,” he added