Chick-fil-A Apologizes After Black Officer Charged While White Colleagues Receive Free Meals

Sergeant Tracy Reid, a Black officer from the Clover Police Department in South Carolina, was required to pay for his meal at a Chick-fil-A in Augusta, Georgia, while his three white colleagues received their meals for free, an incident Reid and others perceived as racially motivated. Reid, who was humiliated and embarrassed by the event, chose not to cause a scene but later wrote to Chick-fil-A's corporate office demanding policy changes and staff retraining to prevent such discrimination. Chick-fil-A apologized, describing the incident as an unintentional oversight involving different registers and an unfamiliar employee, and provided Reid with two free meal cards. However, Reid and his colleagues rejected the company's characterization of the incident as merely perceived racism, insisting the discrimination was real and witnessed by all involved. The incident has sparked calls for Chick-fil-A to strengthen its civil rights compliance and improve how it supports first responders equally. This case highlights ongoing concerns about racial fairness in customer service experiences, especially toward law enforcement officers of color.