The Code Inspector Has been put on leave.
Jaguar Power Sports in Jacksonville says that a city employee not only asked them to take down their patriotic flag display, but she also disrespected a customer who was a veteran. (Jaguar Power Sports|WJXT)
Tuesday, April 17, 2018 02:06PM
The mayor of Jacksonville has responded to growing outrage after Jaguar Power Sports was issued a warning citation for their patriotic rooftop flag display. Store employees say the incident also involved mistreatment of a veteran.
"We cater to our men and women, both retired and active military, so it was personal. We felt like it was a personal attack," the store's sales manager, Marcy Moyer, told WJXT.
The store, which sells motorcycles, ATVs and power sport equipment, has flags from every branch of the military, two United states flags and a Jacksonville Jaguar flag. On Monday, Melinda Power, a city of Jacksonville inspector, issued a warning citation for the display, saying the military flags were in violation of city code. She entered the store accompanied by her supervisor.
The store expressed frustration not just at the fact that they were asked to take down the flags, but at the way Power behaved when in the store. Katie Klasse, a store employee, recounted what happened when a customer who is a veteran got upset with Power.
"She [Power] says 'What did you do for this country?'" Klasse said. "He says 'I took three bullets to the leg. I almost lost my life for this country. I'm retired. I'm a veteran.' She gets in his face this close and says 'You did nothing for this country.'"
Jaguar Power Sports went live on Facebook after the incident, asking viewers to share the story. The video now has millions of views.
https://www.news4jax.com/news/surveillance-video-shows-city-inspector-confront-veteranhttps://www.news4jax.com/news/local/jacksonville/controversy-over-jacksonville-stores-display-of-military-flags-caught-on-camera