When 18-year-old Zachary Randolph noticed a police officer in line at his place of employment — Great American Cookies in a Texas mall — he decided to pay it forward and purchase a cookie for the officer out of his own pocket. The kind gesture was meant to show respect to the officer and to thank him for his service.
Most people would think what Randolph did was an honorable thing. To have respect for authority at that age, especially with anti-police sentiment sweeping across the United States, is truly a breath of fresh air. However, Randolph’s kind act was met with an equally hateful act.
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The man who was in line behind the police officer reacted by asking Randolph if he would be purchasing a cookie for him as well. When Randolph explained that he purchased the cookie to show appreciation to the police officer, the man in line became irate. He went off on a tirade about how the young employee was racist, and threatened violence — as did his wife. The man told Randolph that he was going to get him fired. The situation became so out of hand that a co-worker had to intervene so that Randolph could remove himself from the hostility.
Randolph was then informed that “upper-level management” wanted him fired over the incident, but his manager argued in his defense. He would simply be suspended for a week, but would be fired if he ever again did the same thing. Of course, once this story became viral on social media and the public began demanding answers, Great American Cookies issued an apology to both Randolph and his mother.
In a released statement to the media, the owner and operator of the stores said, “It was never an issue that he purchased a brownie for a police officer, but rather the events that unfolded with another customer in line at the time. However, after further review, we realize that the employee was in fact in the right and we continue to reach out to him and his mom to issue an apology. The corrective action and suspension was reversed immediately, and we hope to connect with him today.”
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This is such a sad world we are living in when someone gets upset over a $2 cookie. The employee did not hand out free food; he paid out of his own pocket. The level of hatred toward police officers has reached unreal proportions.
This 18-year-old teenager acted above his maturity level, while many young people have a distorted view of police. By all accounts, Zachary Randolph is an outstanding employee. The fact that he was offered a pay raise and promotion to management just the day before the incident speaks volumes of his work ethic.
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It’s troubling that a grown man went out of his way not only to harass and threaten a teenager, but followed through with trying to get him fired over absolutely nothing.
Kudos to Zachary Randolph’s parents for raising a level-headed kid who took the incident in stride.
Angelina Newsom is a U.S. Army veteran and an OpsLens contributor. She served 10 years in the military, including a deployment to Afghanistan in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. She studies criminal justice and is still active within the military community. This OpsLens article is used by permission.
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