Police Constable Andre Owen’s response to a woman who shamed him for buying food during his shift has gone viral on social media.
PC Owen, who had been working for seven hours straight and had a 100-mile drive and paperwork to complete, stopped at a Burger King to grab a burger, soda, and coffee to get him through the next few hours of his shift.
Andre Owen ( Twitter )
However, a woman in the restaurant criticized him, saying, “Whilst you’re in here stuffing your face, there’s criminals that need catching out there.” PC Owen was shaken by how the woman reacted to him taking a moment to eat after spending seemingly endless hours helping others.
He took to Twitter to share his story, and his tweet went viral with thousands of people coming out in support of the hard-working officer.
Andre Owen ( Twitter )
Speaking with The Mirror, PC Owen explained that he’d had an incredibly busy day before the incident. He was assigned to a serious job in Brighton only five minutes after starting his shift and had to drive nonstop to Oxford as part of the same job.
He also offered to help a family with a broken-down car, extending his shift to 12 hours. Although he was past the end of his shift, he didn’t hesitate to assist, halting traffic and getting the couple and their children to safety. He finally finished his shift at 7 pm.
Andre Owen ( Twitter )
Despite the lady’s comments, PC Owen said that he loves his job and, on the whole, wouldn’t change it for the world.
Andre Owen ( Twitter )