A police officer who claimed he received an insult on a McDonald's coffee cup resigned after admitting the story was a hoax.
The unidentified man said he wrote "F**king pig" on his own cup and blamed a Junction City drive-thru employee before his chief shared it on social media.
The 23-year-old officer has reportedly served as a Military Police Officer in the United States Army for five years but recently joined the Herington Police Department.
Herington Police Chief Brian Hornaday, who shared a photo of the cup on Facebook when the incident happened, said someone had written the insult on it.
Locals called for a public apology from the fast food chain and for the employee to be fired.
Mr Hornaday said when the officer complained to staff, he was only offered a "free lunch" by management, adding "a Big Mac and large fries doesn't make up for it".
However, the police officer, who has not been named, said in a news conference that the story was fabricated.
“This was completely and solely fabricated by a Herington police officer who is no longer employed with our agency,” Mr Hornaday said.
"The investigation that I conducted showed that this was meant to be a joke.
"However, we can see that how something so serious can get so out of control very, very quickly.
"The most important thing that could have been done and should have been done in this scenario would be to come forward immediately ... however, unfortunately that was not done."
McDonald's said it had reviewed security video "from every angle, which clearly shows the words were not written by one of our employees".
An investigation by Mr Hornaday and McDonald's confirmed that the message on the cup was not written by a staff member, according to The New York Post .
“In the investigation, we have found that McDonald’s and its employees did not have anything whatsoever to do with this incident,” Mr Hornaday said.
He added the police officer should have come forward before the incident became a national story.
The case was brought to the Dickinson County attorney, but the 23-year-old is not expected to face criminal charges.
Mr Hornaday called the incident “an obvious violation of public trust” and an example “of what not to do”.
The original post about the hoax on the police chief's Facebook page is no longer visible.
The Herington Police Department Facebook page also appears to have been deleted.
