12:07 AM CDT on Wednesday, May 31, 2006

By YOLANDA WALKER / WFAA-TV

WFAA-TV

Officer Kevin Dupre says he found a roach in his coffee.

CLEBURNE — A Cleburne McDonald's restaurant and the local police have begun an investigation after a Cleburne police officer said a roach was served to him in a cup of coffee.

Officer Kevin Dupre said what he believed was a roach slipped into his mouth while he drank the hot beverage.

"It was about an inch in length," he said. "It was sort of a reddish-brown in color. It looked in every way to me like a cockroach."

He also said he believed the insect didn't find its way into his cup accidentally.

"I spit it back out onto the outer rim of the lid and went back in and showed the manager," he said. "I was kind of expecting to see someone in the back that I recognized or something."

Dupre said he got little explanation for the incident, but did get his money back.

"Nothing is more important to us than the safety and well-being of our customers and, as such, we have rigorous standards for food quality and safety," said William Hardy, operations manager for McDonald's Restaurants of the Greather Southwest Region. "We take this matter very seriously and a thorough investigation is being conducted."

Police have also started an investigation into food tampering, which is a felony offense.

"Sometimes people may think something might be funny, but it's not funny," said Cleburne police Sgt. Amy Knoll. "It is serious when someone does tamper with a food or drink product."

Officer Dupre said he strongly believes he was targeted. He said he will not return to a McDonald's.

"I'm sure they wouldn't want to be on the other end of that," he said.

The health department in Cleburne said the restaurant had an inspection in early May and there were no pest problems and has received pretty good reports in the two to three years it has been open.

E-mail ywalker@wfaa.com