A North Texas veteran is hoping police can help stop threats he is receiving after he spoke out about what happened to him at a Chili's in Cedar Hill on Veterans Day.
U.S. Army veteran Ernest Walker, 47, and his wife Debbie filed reports with Ovilla police Wednesday afternoon.
Police said they will investigate as thoroughly as they do any case.
"We don’t feel safe in our home. We’ve been living there for 18 years and now that our address has just bene posted permanently, we are now feeling like we are going to sell our property because we’ll never feel safe there," Walker said.
If the name sounds familiar, it's because Walker is the veteran who was served what was meant to be a free meal as part of a promotion offering U.S. military veterans free meals on Veterans Day.
That meal turned out to be anything but free when Walker said he believes an elderly man wearing an American flag shirt and Trump sticker told the restaurant manager that Walker was wearing his cap indoors and was not a U.S. veteran and should not receive a free dinner.
In an encounter captured on video by Walker and posted to Facebook, the manager asked for Walker's military ID, which he provided. Walker also provided his discharge paperwork.
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Walker said the manager then took away his to-go meal.
The manager also indicated Walker's service dog was not a service dog at all, despite having a red service vest and certified tags.
Chili's Grill & Bar, whose parent company, Brinker International, is based in Dallas, has since apologized to Walker. The manager in question was also suspended pending an investigation by the company.
Now, Walker said he's faced with a new problem.
After speaking publicly about what happened, his personal information -- including his home address, phone number and Social Security number -- has apparently fallen into the wrong hands.
Walker said he is now being harassed by anonymous callers. Walker said he has received phone calls from blocked numbers during which the callers say they know where he lives because it is posted online. One caller, Walker said, even threatened to kill his service dog Barack.
Walker said the situation has gotten so bad that he and his wife have had to move out of their home and into a motel as a precautionary measure.
"There are people out there who have hatred and there is nothing you can do to change it, it’s a poison in their system," Walker said.
But they are hoping to turn the bad back into something good.
On Dec. 17, his birthday, Walker will be feeding veterans using funds raised for him through a GoFundMe page that has surpassed $6,000.
