KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Employees at the Applebee's restaurant at Independence Center question if they'll ever return to work. The store closed on Monday after a video of alleged racial profiling went viral.
Applebee's corporate Facebook page has had an apology pinned to its page since Monday.
Two young black women eating at Applebee's were accused of dining and dashing the day before. The women denied the accusation and started recording when a security officer and an Independence police officer asked them to pay for their food and leave.
Some people on Facebook have questioned whether or not the officer would be reprimanded for his role in the incident.
On Thursday, the city of Independence put out a statement saying the officer's conduct was reviewed to ensure compliance with department policy. However, the city said it could not comment on the findings of the review because it was a personnel matter.
“For many years, our officers have been regularly called to assist businesses within Independence Center and this relationship is an important tool to reduce crime and disorder,” Chief Brad Halsey said. “Applebee’s has taken steps to address this situation. We carefully consider each interaction of our officers with the public for opportunities to learn and train to better serve our community.”
The city also said that the police department is evaluating policies and procedures related to the incident to determine if changes are needed.
