Police officer shames woman who complained about him eating at Burger King

Officer Andre Owen bought a meal at a fast food restaurant while he was on the job for 12 hours straight and just wanted to grab a quick bite before he made the 100-mile journey back to his station when a woman scorned him for eating on the job.

The officer, from the Sussex Police department, posted a photo of the Double Whopper meal that he bought from Burger King on his Twitter account on August 8, 2018, which has received thousands of likes and retweets.

The incident occurred on his patch in Brighton, England, according to Evening Standard.

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When the woman criticised him for taking a break at Burger King, what she was not aware of was that Owen had not had a single break in his 12-hour day shift, which began at 7:00 AM on August 8, and he was tired and hungry, according to his tweet.

“To the lady that scorned me for buying food on duty... I've not stopped since 7.05am this morning, not even for toilet break. I'm over 100 miles from my station, and I'm due off in 45 minutes... with a two-hour journey at least! #policearehumantoo.”

Andre Owen, Twitter, August 8, 2018.

Officer Owen spoke to the Evening Standard and told that when he started his shift very early in the morning and was given a “serious job.” He was later ordered to drive to Oxford.

After a half hour into his return journey, he stopped at a service station for his first toilet stop of the day.

PC Owen ordered a double whopper meal, a coffee, and a cold drink from Burger King at the rest stop.

It was his first break since the start of his shift, and he still had 100 miles to cover to reach his station. He told the Evening Standard, he had paperwork to complete.

“A lady, while eating her own food, kept staring at me while I waited. I collected the food, and as I left she said something similar to ‘Whilst you’re in here stuffing your face, there’s criminals that need catching out there,’” he said.

Officer Owen just walked away with a smile, without confronting the lady.

He later tweeted about the incident which revealed the tight schedules and difficulties that a police officer has to go through on the job.

He was surprised by the amount of positive attention his tweet had received, and he made it clear that he had not posted the tweet for sympathy. He only wanted to give the public a glimpse of the reality behind what is an everyday occurrence in the UK.

Officer Owen also spoke about another stop he had to make on his journey back to the station which extended his already long shift.

He came across a family who had a broken down car and PC Owen offered to help them, which added another hour to his 12-hour day shift.

Owen also said that though the lady had irritated him at the time, and even though it was a job that required him to put in extended working hours a day, he wouldn't change it for the world.