“We’ve always allowed uniformed Law Enforcement Officers to carry their sidearms while dining with us,” an Outback spokesperson said. “A manager made a mistake. We have contacted the guest personally and apologized.”
Bradley County Sheriff Eric Watson also released a statement: “I was very saddened to hear the reports of a law enforcement officer who was asked to leave a restaurant in this community,” he wrote. “While I truly respect the restaurant for reaching out to the officer, our community must also show support to the men and women who place the badge on their chests every single day in order to protect the establishment in which the officer was asked to leave.”
According to News2, Ward is very thankful for the support from the community because he believes it truly helped remedy a situation. He believes the problem has been solved and wants to move on.
After the outpouring of support Officer Ward and his family received via Facebook and in his community, the Lawman issued one final statement: “If we move forward and learn from our past mistakes, they are no longer mistakes but lessons,” Ward wrote. “I am not nor will I ever be a perfect man. There was only one perfect man ever to walk this Earth, and he died some 2,000 years ago to forgive my sins. And that’s why stories like this one need to be shared. Not to lambast the restaurant, but rather to inform others, because this mistake happens all too often.