A police officer in the US has resigned after admitting that he had written 'f***ing pig' on his McDonald's coffee cup.
The unnamed Kansas cop had claimed that a drive-thru employee was responsible, with a photograph of the takeaway cup then shared on social media by Herington Police Chief Brian Hornaday.
The post went viral, causing outrage in the local community, with people contacting the Washington Street branch to demand they fire the employee.
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However, on Monday, just two days after the alleged incident, managers at McDonald's said they had reviewed CCTV footage 'from every angle', concluding that it 'clearly shows the words were not written by one of our employees'.
As a result, the unnamed 23-year-old officer has now admitted that it was just 'meant to be a joke' and resigned from the department.
Speaking at a news conference, alongside representatives from McDonald's, Chief Hornaday said the officer had acted alone.
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He said: "This was completely and solely fabricated by a Herington Police officer no longer employed with the agency.
"The investigation that I conducted showed that this was meant to be a joke. However, we can see that how something so serious can get so out of control very, very quickly.
"The most important thing that could have been done and should have been done in this scenario would be to come forward immediately... however, unfortunately that was not done."
He later told 13 News that he was sorry for the loss of trust caused by this incident and that the officer was no longer a member of the police force.
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Chief Hornaday continued: "Integrity is the one and only sole trait of a police officer that you cannot allow to be damaged. Once you damage your integrity, you're done. You will not work in this profession ever again.
"What I do not want to happen here is for the American public to look at this situation and call into question the integrity of any other officer in this country.
"Moving forward, the Herington Police Department will work tirelessly to regain the loss of trust with both McDonald's and with the citizens that we serve.
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"I truly hope the former officer of the Herington Police Department that did this understands the magnitude of the black eye this gives the law enforcement profession from coast to coast."
According to reports, the officer involved in the issue will not face criminal charges and the original post has been removed.
Speaking to Mail Online, the boss of the McDonald's branch said: "We appreciate the Herington Police Department's efforts to thoroughly investigate this troubling incident.
"While we are glad that the evidence confirmed our evaluation that McDonald's and our crew members were absolutely not involved, we stand with our community in being disappointed by these actions.
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"We took seriously our role to be transparent and fully cooperative with Chief Hornaday throughout his investigation, and we look forward to continuing a strong relationship with the department."
Topics: Viral, Food, Funny, Interesting, US News, Weird, McDonald's