Police officer denied service at Verizon store; employee fired

WALTHAM, Mass. — An employee at an independently owned Verizon retailer has been fired after refusing service to an on-duty, uniformed Massachusetts police officer, Boston's WFXT reports.

Sources told WFXT that Waltham police Officer Dan Collins was refused service Tuesday at the Verizon store on Tower Road in Waltham.

The store is independently owned and operated by Cellular Sales.

Waltham police Detective Sgt. Timothy King said the company reached out to officer involved and apologized. The officer involved told the department he’s satisfied with the company’s response.

“As the matter has been resolved by the officer and the company, there will be no further comment at this time,” read a statement from King.

A representative from Cellular Sales told WFXT the following:

"Cellular Sales, an independently owned, authorized Verizon Wireless retailer, became aware of an incident at one of our Boston-area retail locations in which apparently one of our sales representatives failed to provide service to multiple customers, including a uniformed police officer," the statement read. "Cellular Sales is committed to providing excellent service to all of our customers, and as a result of this incident, the sales representative has been terminated."

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Verizon also sent WFXT the following statement:

"Providing excellent service to a first responder is a privilege," the statement read. "We expect all of our partners to uphold our values and business practices. We are investigating this reported incident involving an employee of an independent authorized retailer."

WFXT requested an interview with Collins, but he was not allowed to speak to the media. The department said no on-camera interviews will be granted.

Cox Media Group