Cop union president blasts SF bakery policy, likens guns to wrenches

“NO COPS ALLOWED. That’s the confirmed policy of the bakery chain Reem’s,” the San Francisco Police Officers Association tweeted.

SFPOA honed in on the wording a Reem’s representative had apparently used in a private email to the police union, which said that the bakery does not serve “anyone that is armed in a uniform.” The police union referred to this policy as “bigoted.” In a response posted on social media, Reem’s confirmed it doesn’t serve armed officers, or anyone carrying guns, for that matter. 

SFPOA seemed especially peeved about the “in uniform” phrasing from the Reem’s representative, noting that “presumably, this includes members of the US Military.” But it’s ultimately a distinction without a difference: Uniformed police officers, at least in this country, are almost always carrying guns.

The hubbub faded after a few days of news coverage. But it appears SFPOA President Tracy McCray was still stewing over the perceived slight. On Sept. 1, she penned a blog titled “Cup of Common Sense, Anyone?” The blog made a number of comparisons about police officers and other professions, including the tools — or, as some might refer to them, the weapons — at their disposal.

The beginning of McCray’s blog repeatedly refers to officers working “in uniform” as being unwelcome at Reem’s, thus doing little to dispel the notion that uniformed officers and their firearms go together like Americans and apple pie. McCray echoed her ask that establishments unwilling to serve armed police officers post signs confirming as much.

“Being told we will not serve you because of what you are wearing seems like bias,” she wrote. “It is not ok to have biases anymore unless you have biases against police officers and the entire profession.”

Later in the blog, McCray lodged her fundamental complaint, one that could fairly be described as an eyebrow-raiser: “Especially now, it seems about the uniform and weapon. I mean would you not service a gardener who has clipping shears? A mechanic with a large metal wrench? Firefighters, doctors, nurses are always ok.”

SFGATE reached out to Reem’s for comment on these hypotheticals, but the restaurant directed us back to their original statement that their longstanding policy has been to not serve people who have firearms on them. 

Unfortunately, this does not clarify things for McCray on the subjects she raised. Does Reem’s often serve uniformed gardeners? Do gardeners walk around town with clipping shears on them as often as police officers walk around with guns? Would Reem’s allow a mechanic to order a pastry if their metal wrench — presumably always on their person — is small, rather than large? 

McCray ended the blog by actually reversing course a bit, accusing Reem’s of pure police bigotry. She argued that the bakery is using the threat of gun violence as an excuse to ban all officers in uniform, and that police officers are far less violent than the general public.

“The explanation that it is really about gun violence in society and therefore they do not want uniforms and firearms is bull,” she wrote. “They do not want police officers period. Their previous signage encouraging African Americans to not call the police shows their true intentions. I cannot think of one time in the history of policing, that a police officer just went in and shot up a coffee establishment for the hell of it.”