A Lee County Sheriff’s Deputy who ordered four burritos at a Lehigh Acres Taco Bell said the food contained bleach.
Deputy Brown ordered lunch on Sept. 23 from the Taco Bell at 2714 Lee Boulevard, Fox 4 News reported. As the deputy was eating his lunch, in route to a call, he noticed that the burritos didn’t taste quite right. This was when Brown discovered that the burritos and the bag they were in reeked of bleach.
Lee County Deputy served bleach burritohttps://t.co/ROMgHgJAy1
— Fox 4 News (@Fox4Now) September 26, 2018
Shortly after, Brown contacted the sheriff’s office, when his tongue began to feel “numb and tingly.”
While Deputy Brown didn’t suffer any serious injuries from the toxic bleach, an investigation was opened and on Monday deputies began questioning Taco Bell patrons and employees.
Det. Brown is doing “okay,” according to Caitlyn Mumma, the public information officer for the Lee County Sheriff’s Office. “It’s an active investigation right now and we cannot comment any further,” Mumma added.
A statement from Taco Bell was released, saying, “We take food safety very seriously and are deeply appreciative of the men and women who serve and protect our communities and our country. The franchisee that owns and operates this Lehigh Acres restaurant is investigating this matter.”
There has been an increase in contaminated food being served at fast food restaurants across the U.S., especially involving police officers, according to Blue Lives Matter.
Retired Metro Transit Police Captain William Malone said, “If you can’t see your food being prepared, don’t purchase food while you’re on duty and in uniform. Or bring your food from home.”
“You have no idea how the guy behind that drive-thru speaker feels about law enforcement officers. But you do not want to be the recipient of something that they make up especially for the police,” Malone added.
The latest incident isn’t the first time Taco Bell mistreated police officers.
In Aug. 2016, five policemen were denied service at a Louisville Taco Bell, WLKY News reported at the time.
“The young man behind the counter turned to the other employees and said, ‘I’m not taking this order’ and walked away from them,” FOP president Dave Mutchler said.
Mutchler said, “One of those young men told the other employee, ‘I wanna mess with them. I wanna mess with them.’ And then he followed that up by saying, ‘I’m going to mess with them.’”
A conversation that was taking place between the two employees that were preparing the food was overheard by the officers, prompting them to walk out.
Several other incidents of refused service or contaminated foods between fast food restaurants and police officers have taken place over the years.
