A sheriff’s deputy reportedly went to a Kay Jewelers store in Statesville, NC, to pick up an engagement ring he had purchased but was turned away because of his gun.
The Iredell County Sheriff’s Office described the situation in a Facebook post. When the deputy arrived at the store to pick up the ring, which had been sized, he “was met at the door by the store manager, who informed him he was not allowed to wear his service weapon while on their premises.”
“The deputy informed the manager he was in uniform and his marked patrol car was in the parking lot, and it would be a violation of policy for him to remove his service weapon while in uniform,” according to the post.
The manager “stated our deputy would need to return to the store at a different time when he was not armed.” The deputy left without the ring.
The post continued: “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. Thank you to the citizens and businesses in our area who whole heartily support the men and women who wear the badge.”
As of Thursday morning, the post had accumulated more than 9,800 reactions, 7,800 shares and 7,600 comments. Most comments, including some from other jewelry store owners, strongly supported the deputy, who has not been identified publicly.
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Kay, part of Signet Jewelers (NYSE:SIG), stated in a reply to the post:
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.
Watch a WCNC-TV news clip about the incident below: