Stanley man mistakenly fired from job to be police officer for a day
The family said Peek is very excited about the ceremony, which is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Thursday.
MOUNT HOLLY, N.C. (WBTV) – His story went viral on social media, and now a Gaston County man is about to earn a badge.
Dennis Peek, a man with special needs who was fired from his job at a Stanley Wendy’s location after more than 20 years of employment, is being made an officer for a day by the Mount Holly Police Department, according to his sister.
The family said Peek is very excited about the ceremony, which is scheduled for 9 a.m. on Thursday.
It comes after an emotional social media post from Peek’s sister, Cona Turner, saying he was fired from his job because the manager needed someone who could do more jobs around the store that her brother could not do.
That Oct. 5 post has since been shared over 14,000 times.
It made it all the way up to the franchise organization that owns the Stanley Wendy’s location.
That franchise organization, Carolina Restaurant Group, previously sent WBTV a statement that read:
We cannot comment further on personnel matters, but we’re taking appropriate action. This was an unfortunate mistake that we’re working through with the team member, his job coach and family. We’re also using this as an opportunity to retrain all our teams on our protocols.”
A Facebook event page lists a retirement party for Peek, being hosted by the town of Stanley, is taking place on Saturday, Nov. 5.
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