INFORMATION RELEASE
Statement from Chief Kudrick in response to the incident at Five Guys Burgers and Fries

“The action of one is not a reflection of all”.

Whether it’s a police department or a business, sometimes one employee can cause a lot of damage. As many of you are aware an employee of Five Guys Burgers and Fries here in Howell made derogatory remarks towards our officers last night as they walked in on their meal break. The officers turned around and left without engaging this misguided young man. The manager was reported to have laughed at the comment as well. A customer who witnessed the incident posted it on social media and it went viral.

This morning, I met with owner and area manager at police headquarters. The conversation was meaningful. Both were genuinely upset and stressed over this incident. They also requested to issue a public statement condemning the incident while strongly supporting law enforcement.

To show my support in return, I had lunch with Courtney, the area manager. I also spoke to Cesar, the manager who was reported to have laughed. His reaction was a result of him being uncomfortable and somewhat taken back by the employee’s conduct. He was the one who immediately notified Courtney who then terminated the employee. It was a great conversation between all of us. By the way, the burger was delicious!

I am confident this incident was handled swiftly and appropriately. The employee was terminated even before this incident made it to social media. I believe this is to be an isolated incident caused by a poor decision by a part-time employee. It is definitely not the culture of this business. In fact , management and ownership is overwhelmingly supportive of law enforcement. This includes not only how they handled this incident but their previous history as well.

I encourage you to continue to support this business and come out this Wednesday as they host a law enforcement appreciation event. 100 percent of the proceeds will go to the Howell PBA.

On behalf of all my officers, thank you for the overwhelming amount of support you have shown us. We are privileged to serve in such an amazing community. Let’s move on from this.