PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 12, 2021
Media contact Gadi Adelman gadi@backthebluenc.org
As many of you are aware, there was an incident at the North Raleigh Carolina Ale House last Friday, August 6, 2021.
The incident involved a Global One Company Police Officer, Major Whitfield, who met his family at the Carolina Ale House while on dinner break.
The management of the Carolina Ale House was unaware that in NC there are ‘Company Police’.
Company Police must meet the same minimum standards required for employment and certification as any law enforcement officer in North Carolina, including completion of the Basic Law Enforcement Training course. They are sworn law enforcement with the same subject matter jurisdiction as any other sworn law enforcement officers to make arrests for both felonies and misdemeanors or infractions.
Major Whitfield had been speaking with the Public Relations department at the Carolina Ale House and on Thursday, August 12, 2021, he requested Back The Blue NC, Inc. help mediate a resolution.
I am pleased to announce that a resolution has been reached that benefits all involved and that the Carolina Ale House is changing its policy which will assure that such an incident will not occur in the future with any other law enforcement officers.
The Carolina Ale House has issued the following statement;
“Based on the recent interaction in our North Raleigh location with a Company Police Officer, the Carolina Ale House has reviewed our “No Weapons or Concealed Weapons” policy. The policy will now clarify the exceptions with “In Uniform Military and Police Officers with a Law Enforcement ID.” Before this situation, we were unaware of the designation of Private Company Police which caused confusion in a recent in a guest experience.
We are expanding our policy to now include licensed, sworn, Private Company Officers with a law enforcement ID.
We deeply apologize to this guest and his family for the frustration and stress this situation has caused.
We appreciate the opportunity to learn and be educated on the unique designation of Private Company Police.
We want to assure our friends, neighbors, and community we have always supported our law enforcement and always will. We are immensely grateful for the safety they provide and want nothing but safety in the line of duty.”
Back The Blue NC, Inc. would like to thank the Carolina Ale House Public Relations and Risk Management staff for speaking with us and allowing us to get involved to bring this matter to a quick resolution.
At no time was this anything more than a misunderstanding surrounding ‘Company Police’, the Carolina Ale House supports and welcomes law enforcement and BTBNC hopes that this brings closure to all involved.
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