Top Twin Cities chef says social media post is untrue, cops are welcome at his restaurants
A prominent Twin Cities chef says there's no truth to a social media post claiming that he's refusing restaurant service to police officers.
Justin Sutherland operates eateries including the Handsome Hog in St. Paul, and Obachan Noodles and Chicken in Roseville, Minn. He has also appeared on cooking shows including "Iron Chef America."
The Facebook page "Minnesota Police News Connection" claimed in an anonymous post Wednesday that Sutherland banned officers from his businesses during a "nasty rant" on a livestream amid recent protests in Brooklyn Center, Minn. The post also alleges that an unnamed officer was denied service at Obachan.
Sutherland told MPR News that he voiced his frustration about the police killing of Daunte Wright, a 20-year-old Black man, but said law enforcement is always welcome at his establishments.
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"My 100 percent goal, especially moving forward, is healing that relationship,” Sutherland said. “We always support good police officers. I have a great relationship with the police officers in the city of St. Paul. What that said is just absolutely not true."
Sutherland said he broadcast the livestream on his Facebook page the evening after former Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter fatally shot Wright, but he did not save the video to the page.
Minnesota Police News Connection, which did not respond to a request for comment, did not post a screen capture of Sutherland’s livestream.
Sutherland said his restaurants have long offered free meals to police and others in uniform.