The Pizza Squared restaurant in San Francisco faced a deluge of bad reviews after the SF Police Officers Association (POA) said a number of officers were told by a cashier that they were “not welcome in the restaurant”.

The restaurant’s managers apologised to the POA and told them they had fired the cashier in question — but the POA went on to post on social media about the incident, leading to a backlash for the restaurant.

The POA’s decision to make the matter public was subsequently condemned by the SF Deputy Sheriffs’ Association, which represents more senior law enforcement officials in the city.

Ken Lomba, president of the Deputy Sheriffs’ Association, told The San Francisco Standard: “Personally, I think it was unprofessional of the POA to put that out on social media. They are public shaming and bullying people.

“San Francisco has businesses leaving. What does the POA do? They come out and shame a business publicly… I just shake my head at the SFPOA.”

A video subsequently posted to TikTok by the sheriff’s department showed deputy sheriffs visiting the restaurant and sharing a meal with staff in what has been interpreted as a further rebuke to the POA.