Police officer hits back after he was shamed by woman for buying Burger King during twelve-hour shift

"Police are human too"
PC Andre Owen said: "Police are human too"
PC Andre Owen
Olivia Tobin10 August 2018

A Sussex police officer has told how he was shamed by a woman for eating a Burger King while on duty - during his only break in a twelve-hour day.

PC Andre Owen, who works in Brighton, shared the incident on Twitter in widely-shared post, saying “police are human too”.

PC Owen had been on shift for seven hours before he took a moment to grab some food.

He said he started work at 7am and was assigned a “serious job” in Brighton, before being told he would have to drive non-stop to Oxford.

He told the Standard: “So half an hour back into the journey on the return I stopped at a service station for my first toilet stop of the day.”

Double whopper: PC Owen's mid-shift meal
PC Andre Owen

There, PC Owen said he ordered a double whopper meal, coffee and drink from fast-food chain Burger King.

He added: “It was my first break and I still had a 100 miles journey back to my station, plus paperwork.

“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’.”

PC Owen said he just smiled and walked away.

He later tweeted about the incident, writing: “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 mins... with a two hour journey at least.!!!! #policearehumantoo”

The tweet has since been liked by thousands, with many encouraging the officer to take no notice.

He said: “I put on Twitter and the tweet gathered so much momentum with such positive support.

“The tweet wasn’t for sympathy, but to show the public the reality behind what is commonplace in the UK.”

After PC Owen’s meal, the officer said his long shift became even longer as he offered to help a family who had a broken down car.

He said: “It added another hour onto my already long day. I finally finished my shift just before 7pm, nearly 12 hours after I started.

“Whilst it’s long, and the lady annoyed me at the time, I love my job and on the whole, wouldn’t change it for the world.”

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