ROXBORO, NC - Two fast food employees have been fired after one of them refused to serve a police officer who wanted to order food from the establishment.

The incident occurred at the Cook Out restaurant in Roxboro, North Carolina when Kenneth Horton, an army vet and veteran police officer, visited the chain restaurant and was denied service by the cashier.

"We're saddened that an employee denied service to a police officer. We promote unity. The public here knows that. And, unfortunately, this incident has created a divide but it is only because of a small action that could have been avoided," Roxboro Police Chief David Hess told WTVD.

Word of Horton’s encounter at the Cook Out allegedly spread through Roxboro and on social media before it got back to senior level Cook Out employees, who later fired both the cashier and the restaurant manager.

"We did not contact corporate directly asking them to fire this employee. Cook Out took it upon themselves to take action," Chief Hess said.

The manager, a mother of four who did not wish to be identified, had worked at Cook Out for 10 years. She said she wished the employee would have asked her to come to the front to take the officer’s order instead of asking another cashier to do it.