Update 3/28- Memphis police have arrested and charged Mark Taylor, a bartender at Jack Magoo’s with with Simple Assault related to the incident below.
(Memphis) Some people are outraged over a disabled former Germantown police officer being kicked-out of a Broad Avenue bar.
Friends of Brian Roper say he wasn’t drunk, just judged and treated unfairly.
They say it wasn’t that he refused to respond to the bartender, it’s that he couldn’t.
“He makes himself understood as best he can,” said Neighbor Josie Smith.
Josie Smith says Roper has trouble speaking because he suffers from aphasia, a lasting effect from several strokes.
The retired police captain now lives in an independent living home on Poplar Ave. and likes going out for pizza.
Recently, when Roper went to Jack Magoo’s, police say the bartender couldn’t understand his order and thought he was drunk.
Reports say a security guard physically removed him from the restaurant after Roper didn’t respond to requests for him to leave.
“He has these huge bruises on his arms,” said Smith.
Josie says the incident should have never happened, “I can’t understand it. It is just mind boggling that someone would automatically assume that somebody is drunk when you have someone who is obviously disabled.”
Many are concerned over what happened, which has prompted the owner of Jack Magoo’s to reportedly hire a private investigator to get to the bottom of it.
In the end, Josie hopes it serves as a lesson for other restaurant workers, “That they look at people and connect with them and not just automatically make an assumption.”
We tried to speak with the owner of Jack Magoo’s but an employee says he is out of town.
He previously released a statement saying that Magoo’s tries to provide an environment that is inclusive of all people.
