A Kay Jewelers location in North Carolina refused to let a sheriff’s deputy pick up an engagement ring because he had his gun.
The deputy was in uniform and went to the store on his lunch break. He already paid for the ring, and was just coming to pick it up after it was sized, according to a Facebook post from the Iredell County Sheriff.
When he got to the store, a Kay Jewelers manager told him that he would have to leave his service weapon in his car, according to the post.
The deputy’s patrol car was in the parking lot. He told store staff that it was against department policy to fulfill their request and disarm himself while wearing his uniform.
The Iredell County Sheriff said that there was a good reason his deputy could not remove his firearm, via the Facebook post.
“This policy is in place for not only the safety of the deputy, but the general public as well. The manager stated our deputy would need to return to the store at a different time when he was not armed. The deputy left the store, without the ring he had purchased,” the sheriff said, via Facebook.
“The reaction our deputy encountered is very difficult for us to comprehend, and we earnestly hope situations such as these are few and are diminishing,” he added.
He then thanked businesses in the area that support local law enforcement, and said he attempted to contact the Kay Jewelers corporate office, but did not hear back from them.
The Kay Jewelers Facebook page responded to the post in its comments section. The response now has over 2,400 reactions.
“Kay Jewelers is reaching out to the customer and the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office to sincerely apologize for the mishandling of this matter. We have tremendous respect for law enforcement, and we thank the Office for bringing this to our attention. We will be sure to reinforce store training regarding our firearm policy with specific regard to uniformed law enforcement.”
Some other responses to the sheriff’s Facebook post welcomed officers to visit other businesses in the area, saying they would be treated well.
“I own Oz’s Jewelers in Hickory and we welcome our armed officers to our store anytime and can stay as long as they like. We have quite a few that we know personally and and enjoy there [sic] company. This is sad that they cannot respect our officers. Sincerely Oz Hefner,” wrote one business owner.
Kay Jewelers also responded in full in a later post on its own Facebook page.
“After learning of an incident involving a law enforcement officer in Iredell County, North Carolina, Kay Jewelers reached out immediately to the customer and the Iredell County Sheriff’s Office, and we sincerely apologized for the mishandling of this matter.
“Our policy is that any member of law enforcement is always welcomed in our store at any time, as a customer or in an official capacity.
“We have tremendous respect for and closely work with law enforcement at all levels, and we thank the Office for bringing this to our attention.
“We are reinforcing store training regarding all of our Customer First policies, as well as specific policies related to law enforcement, in all of our stores.
“The store manager is no longer employed by the company.”
