Burger King
Mayukh Saha
Mayukh Saha
February 11, 2024 ·  4 min read

Woman Shames Cop For Eating On Duty, So He Hit Her With The Perfect Response

People’s lives are their own, and we cannot judge or assume what they are going through. So, it would be unwise to comment on someone else’s life without knowing what was happening. A woman shamed a police constable working for Sussex Police for eating on duty. The constable, Andre Owen, later uploaded the story on Twitter: “To the lady that scorned me for buying food on duty… I’ve not stopped since 07:05 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 police constable had also attached a photo of a meal that he had bought from fast food chain Burger King, which had then garnered 8000 likes, and 1000 shares. The constable went on to talk about how he had been going through an incredibly busy day when the woman called him out. For the record, we refuse to pass judgment on the woman as well, for we don’t know what she was going through as well. She probably was used to a lot of people languishing in their job.

But nevertheless, she could have tried to understand the constable’s point of view without immediately shaming him. He stated, “Five minutes after starting my shift, I was assigned to a serious job in Brighton. I dealt with that and then had to drive nonstop to Oxford as part of the same job, single crewed. Half an hour into the return journey, I stopped at a service station for my first toilet stop of the day! While there, I also got a double whopper meal, apple pie, Coke and a cappuccino.

PC Andrew Owen
Image Credits: Twitter | Andrew Owen

Police Constable Shamed For Eating On Duty Posts On Twitter Where He Explained His Position

It was around 2 pm when the police constable was eating on duty- but only because he had a hundred-mile journey and paperwork to look forward to. But this woman, who was also at the service station, didn’t know any of it, hence the assumptions- which were somewhat unfounded. Andre mentioned, “A lady eating her own food, kept staring at me whilst I waited. I collected the food and as I left she said something similar to ‘whilst you’re in here stuffing your face, there are criminals that need catching out there’, I smiled, and just walked away without saying a word. I put it on Twitter and the tweet gathered so much momentum with such positive support.”

Everyone Has Their Story To Tell- Let’s Listen Before Assuming

The constable made it clear that his tweet (unfortunately, since it was deleted) wasn’t a cry for sympathy or attention. Rather, it was simply to show the public the harsh reality of his profession. His last tweet was, “So…to try and reply to these comments:- First. Thank you for everyone’s support! It’s overwhelming! I had a Double a Whopper Meal! I just smiled at the lady and walked away, and after all of that it took nearly 4 hours to get back due to helping a family broken down on #M23.

Lastly on route back I came across a broken down car on the M23. Although way off my patch, I stopped and assisted, stopping traffic so I could get the male, female and their children to safety behind the safety barrier. I then waited for recovery to pick them up, using my blue lights to provide protection to all around. It added another hour onto my already long day. 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.

PC Andrew Owen's tweet explaining why he was eating on duty.
Image Credits: Twitter | Andrew Owen

It is indeed quite sad when people are willing to bring down others without knowing about their situation. But also, we can’t completely blame the woman for making this assumption- some people do slack off on their jobs. Yet, one could expect the woman to make an informed decision. She could have asked the police constable why he was eating on duty- but she decided to accuse and shame him in the first place. Being polite goes a long way in today’s world; everyone would be wise to remember that.

Keep Reading: Police officer adopts girl he consoled during welfare check

Sources

  1. Woman shames police officer for buying Burger King on the job – but he has the best response.” Mirror. Courtney Pochin. August 10, 2018.
  2. Woman shames cop for eating while on duty so he decides to tell her about his day.” Shareably. Caryl Jane Espiritu. September 28, 2022.