Officer pays couple's tab after they refuse to sit next to him

PITTSBURGH — A Pittsburgh-area police officer paid for a couple's meal after the two said they didn't want to be seated near him and other officers.

According to ABC News, officer Chuck Thomas of the Homestead Police Department was with three other officers when they sat down to eat at the Eat n' Park last week.

"A male and female were going to be seated across from us, and he said, 'I don't want to sit there,' which drew my attention, and we made eye contact, and his body language just told me that he wanted nothing to do with police," <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/penn-police-officer-picks-tab-couple-refused-sit/story?id=40528725" target="_blank">Thomas told ABC News.</a>

<span>"I looked over at him and said, 'You don't have to worry about it. We won't hurt you.' He said, 'No, I'm good. I don't want to sit there.'" Thomas <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/US/penn-police-officer-picks-tab-couple-refused-sit/story?id=40528725" target="_blank">added</a>.</span>

"The day after Dallas, it was tight. You could feel the tension in the air. A lot of people did come up to us and thank us and shook hands and spoke of their sorrow. This was the only negative experience of the day," Thomas told ABC.

He decided to pay for the meal so he could leave a note for the couple. On it he wrote:

"Sir, your check was paid for by the police officers that you didn't want to sit next to. Thank you for your support. I left a $10.00 tip too."

The couple were "thrown back by it," according to a server there and laughed when they found out he paid.

Read the full story here.

Cox Media Group