St. Cloud, Florida – An on-duty police officer went to Walmart in uniform, grabbed some items that he needed to buy, and headed for the checkout. When he got to the register, he was refused service by the cashier.

The incident occurred at the Walmart on 13th Street in St. Cloud, Florida. When the St. Cloud officer got to the checkout lane, the female clerk pointed out her skin color and then told him that she wouldn’t allow him to buy his items.

A second employee reportedly laughed at the way that the officer was treated.

Walmart and the St. Cloud Police Department both confirmed to WFTV Channel 9 that the incident had happened.

When Walmart’s corporate office was contacted by WFTV Channel 9 about the incident, they were told, “This is an unfortunate situation, but we cannot comment on an active HR investigation.”

It’s almost understandable that a lone Walmart employee might behave inappropriately. However, when Walmart’s corporate office had a chance to apologize and set things straight, they refused to comment. This is absurd!

Walmart has a history of acting quickly to fire employees for defending themselves or others from being assaulted, and they aren’t afraid to comment then. This refusal to comment is clearly a cover until the incident blows over. Their lack of a response here indicates that they plan to take no action against the employee in question. Maybe Walmart is too afraid to appear to support police officers, for fear of offending their criminal customers.

Our heroic police officers deserve better than to be refused service at a retail establishment that will sell to just about anybody else. Especially when you consider that most police departments have to respond to their local Walmarts every day for shoplifting and disturbances.